GENERALITY AND VALIDITY OF SOME THEORIES OF COALITION FORMATION

Although there have been numerous empirical tests of various theories of coalition formation, many of these data may be equivocal because the relative validity of a given theory may vary with the procedure used to test it. Accordingly, 3 different procedures, varying in communication restrictions and information availability, were used to test 3 theories of coalition formation: minimum resource theory, bargaining theory, and the weighted probability model. Group size (3, 4, and 5 members) was also varied. Based on data from 372 male undergraduates, the results indicate that group size and experimental procedure have significant effects on the validity of the 3 theories. The predictions of minimum resource theory were least accurate, whereas the predictions of the bargaining theory were most accurate. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1978 American Psychological Association.