Performance of Individuals and Groups in Sensemaking of Information from Computer Decision Aiding Systems

Abstract

This study presents preliminary results of a comparison of the manner in which individuals and a group of decision makers make sense of computer-aided information. Experiments were conducted to analyze the differences between individuals and a group of sense makers with respect to their perceptions of decision aiding information using Weick's sensemaking dimensions. The group of decision makers tended to grasp situations in more detail, use consensus in validating computer-aided information, adapt to new information more readily, and pay more attention to automation reliability. On the other hand, the individuals tended to assimilate decision-aided information into practice and to use cues from automation, and pay attention to the practical use of automated information.