Selected factors impacting decision making in prereferral intervention and other school-based teams: Exploring the intersection between school and social psychology

Abstract

Many of the most important decisions and recommendations made by school psychologists occur within the context of school-based teams. Despite this, research and theory regarding group decision making has attracted little attention in the school psychology literature (Conoley & Gutkin, 1995; Gutkin & Conoley, 1990). To begin addressing this problem, this paper reviews group-based social psychological work with both extensive empirical support and important pragmatic implications for school psychology practitioners and researchers. Primary foci include the need for improved outcome criteria with which school psychologists can assess the quality of group decision making, the power of majorities in groups, the value of minority dissent, group polarization, and the establishment of shared norms. Although far from an exhaustive list, these social psychological phenomena exemplify the kinds of issues needing greater attention by school psychologists as they work with school-based teams.