Diverse groups face cohesion costs and anxiety that can impair performance

Evidence

Alternatively, diversity may not always be beneficial in improving the performance of groups. Diverse groups tend to experience more conflict and can be less cohesive than nondiverse groups (de Dreu & Weingart, 2003). Interracial interactions may also be fraught with discomfort and cause anxiety—factors that are not conducive to higher quality performance on group tasks (Richeson & Shelton, 2003; Trawalter, Richeson, & Shelton, 2009). Situations that are open-ended without a cohesive script—both of which are qualities that define jury deliberations—are also more likely to evoke anxiety and conflict in interracial interactions (Avery, Richeson, Hebl, & Ambady, 2009). The anxieties provoked by interracial interactions can also impair performance on cognitive tasks and inhibit interpersonal relationships (Norton, Sommers, Apfelbaum, Pura, & Ariely, 2006; Richeson & Shelton, 2003). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 901

Categorization

• XREF: Speaks directly to the reader’s question of whether constructed heterogeneity corrodes or strengthens group solidarity — echoes Milgrom and social capital work on cohesion.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 901