Browsing by Author "Gabriela Daniel"

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    Group Dynamics and their Influence on Decision Making: An Assessment of Selected Community-Based Youth Association in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2026-06) Gabriela Daniel; Tamirie Andualem
    Groupthink theory suggests that high group cohesiveness pressures individuals to conform, sacrificing critical thinking to maintain harmony. However, existing literature heavily relies on Western contexts, creating a geographic and structural gap regarding urban African civic environments. This study evaluated the impact of group dynamics specifically communication, group cohesion, leadership, and conformity pressure on collective decision-making among community-based youth associations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted using a sample of 141 youth participants. The model explained a significant proportion of variance in decision-making effectiveness, R2= .663, p < .001. Communication clarity emerged as the strongest predictor (ß = .398, p < .001), indicating that clear understanding and open idea-sharing enhance decision effectiveness. Group cohesion also significantly predicted effective outcomes (ß = .339, p < .001), suggesting that strong unity benefits group choices. Additionally, participative leadership positively contributed to the process (ß = .191, p = .013), fostering shared responsibility. Conversely, conformity pressure lacked a significant relationship with decision-making quality (r = .019, p = .823). These findings challenge classic groupthink paradigms by demonstrating that social identification can foster collective unity in civic youth organizations without sacrificing individual psychological safety. Keywords: group dynamics, decision Making, groupthink, social identity theory