Behavioral considerations in group support

A series of interrelated issues are presented that significantly affect the success and failure to provide facilitated group support for decision and negotiation.The issues are derived from the GDN experience of the author, accumulated over 40 years and hundreds of GDN interventions. After each issue is presented,the implications for facilitation and the design of a group support system are noted with reference to other chapters in the Handbook. While discussions of the issues refers to some of the well-established literature on the topic, they are not based on formal empirical analysis of interventions. The issues all raise behavioral considerations. In particular, it is suggested that, notwithstanding a recent focus on microanalysis in GDN, these issues are still worthy of greater research and debate within the GDN research community.