Examples

This situation is one in which the actions of a single person provide a benefit for all (including himself or herself). Such situations arise routinely both in dyadic and group settings. For example, in marriages or business partnerships, joint obligations (e.g., responding to invitations, paying bills) can be fulfilled equally well by either partner. Likewise, either marriage partner can simultaneously benefit self and the spouse by making a particular “right” choice – for example, both benefit when either cleans the house, quiets the children, or prepares a meal. As Steiner (1972) has observed, performance groups face this situation in group tasks where a single member can effectively do the work of the entire group. For example, a group of students in a chemistry lab may have a single lab assignment requiring a single written report, for which all the students will receive the same grade. In such a case, any single lab-group member could (in principle) complete, write up, and turn in the assignment. Many bystander intervention settings (cf. Latané & Darley, 1970) also have this structure. Often only one bystander needs to act (e.g., give or seek help) in order to “solve” the problem confronting the group of bystanders (i.e., deal with the emergency).

Conceptual Description

The essential feature of the situation of disjunctive interdependence is that an act or choice of any single group member is sufficient to determine a desired outcome for all.