On Using the Agenda to Influence Group Decisions: Theory, Experiments, and an Application

Three general claims are made in the paper. First, the agenda or groupings in which alternatives are considered for adoption or elimination is a major parameter in determining what a group will choose. Secondly, the nature of this influence is sufficiently systematic to yield to an analytical model. Finally, it is claimed that this discovery has important practical implications. In support of these claims, the paper offers a theory of the basis of the influence together with an attempt to capture this theory within a mathematical model. The results of an application of the theory to a real situation and the results of several series of experiments are reported.