Optimally Interacting Minds
- 27 August 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 329 (5995), 1081-1085
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1185718
Abstract
Two Heads Are Better Than One: When two people peer into the distance and try to figure out if a faint number is a three or an eight, classical signal detection theory states that the joint decision can only be as good as that of the person with higher visual acuity. Bahrami et al. (p. 1081 ; see the Perspective by Ernst ) propose that a discussion not only of what each person perceives but also of the degree of confidence in those assignments can improve the overall sensitivity of the decision. Using a traditional contrast-detection task, they showed that, when the individuals did not differ too much in their powers of visual discrimination, collective decision-making significantly improved sensitivity. The model offered here formalizes debates held since the Enlightenment about whether collective thinking can outperform that of elite individuals.This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit:
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