Collective intelligence in groups is intricately linked to social intelligence, particularly social perceptiveness, participation, and gender balance. When we attempted to simultaneously predict collective intelligence using these three factors, only social perceptiveness emerged as statistically significant. This suggests that social perceptiveness might be the common thread connecting the other factors. For instance, it could explain the impact of gender, as socially perceptive individuals may also be more likely to participate actively in group discussions. An illuminating finding from an online group study reinforced the importance of social perceptiveness. It showed that individuals with high social perceptiveness exhibited equally strong collective intelligence, irrespective of whether they were interacting face-to-face or online, indicating that social perceptiveness extends to a wide range of interpersonal skills vital for successful collaboration in various contexts, both physical and digital.

Social Intelligence in Collective Intelligence

Groups with a better distribution of participation were found to be more intelligent than groups were one or only a few dominated. Collective intelligence is higher in groups where everyone is sharing in the participation. 

San Jose State University

- Average General Intelligence of the Group
- Average Social Perceptiveness
- Average Participation
- Number of Women
- Cognitive Style Diversity

Factors in Determining Collective Intelligence

Malone, Thomas W. 2018. Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together. Little, Brown Spark.

https://cci.mit.edu/superminds-by-thomas-w-malone/

Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together

The correlation between a groups collective intelligence and the average general intelligence of its members is only moderate. Basically, a group comprised of smart people does not necessarily make a smart group. 

Correlation between Average General Intelligence and Collective Intelligence

One factor in collective intelligence is the average social perceptiveness of the group members, evaluated through the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test. In this assessment, participants analyzed images of people's eyes to deduce their mental states. Originally designed to measure autism, the test revealed variations in individuals' social intelligence even among neurotypical adults. Notably, groups with a higher percentage of members performing well on this social perceptiveness test tended to display greater collective intelligence than those with lower scores.

Correlation Between Average Social Perceptiveness and Collective Intelligence

Correlation Between Participation and Collective Intelligence

Collective intelligence in groups was notably linked to the group's gender composition, with a higher proportion of women being associated with increased intelligence. However, this relationship could be predominantly explained by the level of social perceptiveness within the group. It is a known fact that women, on average, score higher in social perceptiveness tests than men. Therefore, the crucial factor for enhancing group intelligence appears to be the social perceptiveness of its members rather than their gender. In essence, a group tends to exhibit higher intelligence when it includes individuals with strong social perceptiveness, regardless of their gender. Consequently, if individuals are chosen for a group solely based on their gender, there is a greater likelihood of finding social perceptiveness in women than in men.

Correlation Between Number of Women and Collective Intelligence

Groups with an intermediate level of cognitive style diversity had more collective intelligence than those with a lot or very little diversity. This could be because groups with too much diversity could not effectively communicate and groups with too little did not have an adequate range of skills to perform better. 

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