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Group Communication During Resource Dilemmas

2. Effects of Harvest Limit and Reward Asymmetry

University of Delaware, Newark, DE, chazzq{at}udel.edu

Vera Zingerman

Department of Communication at the University of Delaware

Erin Towey

Department of Communication at the University of Delaware

Courtney McFeeters

Department of Communication at the University of Delaware

A resource dilemma is a circumstance in which an aggregate of people share a slowly replenishing resource pool out of which each person can harvest a significant amount. Resource dilemmas normally make salient an allocation norm of equality in harvests among aggregate members. When asymmetry among aggregate members exists in terms of either access to the resource pool or reward for harvest, the equity allocation norm becomes equally relevant. In this study, groups experienced an experimental simulation of a resource dilemma under either symmetric, asymmetric harvest limit, or asymmetric reward conditions. Groups in the asymmetric conditions were more likely to choose explicitly to follow an allocation norm, and groups that chose to follow a norm had a far more task-oriented discussion and positive perceptions of their experience than groups that did not make an explicit choice. Neither experimental condition nor explicit norm choice revealed a discernible impact on harvesting.

Key Words: small group discussion • resource dilemma • asymmetry • social norm

Communication Research, Vol. 33, No. 1, 64-91 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650205283102


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				C. Pavitt, A. C. High, K. E. Tressler, and J. K. Winslow Leadership Communication During Group Resource Dilemmas Small Group Research, August 1, 2007; 38(4): 509 - 531. [Abstract] [PDF]