2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Processes and problems of consensus-making in group discussion

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20720117
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Linguistics
Research Institution	Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
Principal Investigator	SUZUKI Kana Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, 心理科学部, 講師 (20443252)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2009
Keywords	談話研究 / グループ・ディスカッション / 合意形成 / 大学生 / 議論支援ツール
Research Abstract	This study investigates processes and problems of consensus-making in group discussion among Japanese undergraduate students, by applying discourse analytic approaches to video-recorded natural discussion data. Examining every detail that relates to the course of discussion, from the overall structures through which decisions were made, and verbal/non-verbal behavior of each participant, we identified three groups of problems that might hamper logical and smooth decision-making. The study further proposed a discussion-supporting tool for undergraduates with which they could learn how to build up their arguments step-by-step in order to reach a legitimate conclusion within a limited amount of time.