Decision making and problem solving
A cursory review of the traditional leadership literature on decision making and problem solving reveals that the majority focuses on how an individual makes decisions. Much of the more recent work has involved the affirmation or extension of this traditional body of work through the application of insights about the functioning of the brain drawn from neuroscience research. Although a number of authors allude to the importance of open group discussion for the purpose of overcoming shortcomings in individual decision making, neuroscience has only just begun to look at the neural basis for decision making in social or group settings.A study with implications for decision making in group settings looked at Oxford rowers and showed that in training together members of the team were able to tolerate far more pain than when they trained on their own.
A number of prior studies had shown that physical exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, creating a mild sense of euphoria. using pain tolerance (a conventional non-invasive assay for endorphin release), the Cohen study showed that group training heightened the endorphin surge compared with a similar training regime carried out alone. The authors speculate that this heightened effect from synchronized activity may explain the sense of euphoria experienced during other social or group activities that involve social bonding (such as laughter, music-making, dancing, or working together to solve a problem or make a difficult decision)
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