An Examination of the Coherence of Group Discussions

Abstract

The claim that a group's communication plays a significant role in the outcomes of its discussion presupposes that the members of the group were in actuality communicating with one another; in other words, they were conducting a coherent discussion. Past research attempting to relate discussion and outcomes has almost universally failed to test this presumption. The present study indicates that a sample of 62 groups met quantitative criteria on both the group and individual level for coherent discussion and thus can be presumed to be engaging in communication.