Using storytelling to explore values and cognitive schemas in small group consensus decision making

Abstract

This activity engages students in values-based decision making using a story about five characters caught up in a morally fraught dilemma. Students draw conclusions about each character based on perceptions of their actions, rather than explicitly stated attributes, as they interact with one another to reach a consensus ranking from best to worst. The activity incorporates storytelling with the Integrated Model to highlight the impact of cognitive schemas on group decision-making processes. Courses Small Group Communication, Basic/Introductory Communication Course with a small-group component. Objectives Through a storytelling activity, students apply a cognitive schemas framework to identify individual-level, values-based variables influencing small-group consensus decision making.