to invite individuals to contribute additional

[keannu]

Is this "invite" more like "request" or "recommend"?
If it is the former, as in the definiton of a dictionary, "to request politely or formally: to invite donations. " Invite | Define Invite at Dictionary.com Is it usually "politely or formally"?

gu82)How do groups make decisions? Do they simply follow the idea of the loudest member rather than consider each member's opinon?...They found a common tendency among groups to discuss ony the available information rather than to invite individuals to contribute additional knowledge...

[JMurray]

not a teacher

This "to invite" may involve a direct request to contribute, but I think that here the definition also includes elements of #3 in your link: "to act so as to bring on or render probable". Groups have a tendency to only discuss available information rather than ask people to contribute additional information, or establish an environment where additional information is clearly welcome.

[keannu]

1. I have an extra question. The answer for the blank is "although". But don't 2 and 3 also work?
2. Does "extended" only mean "time-wise lengthened" not discussion scope-wise? Is it related to "who talked more"?

gu82)How do groups make decisions? Do they simply follow the idea of the loudest member rather than consider each member's opinon?...They found a common tendency among groups to discuss ony the available information rather than to invite individuals to contribute additional knowledge. As a result, the groups often made poor decisions based on insufficient informaiton. Another strange trend was that in groups who talked more, members were extremely careful to avoid creating potential confusion or conflict by sticking to existing shared knowledge. For this reason, _____ the members engaged in more extended discussions, they were observed to actually share even less new information.
1. although 2. while 3. as

[bhaisahab]

1. I have an extra question. The answer for the blank is "although". But don't 2 and 3 also work?
2. Does "extended" only mean "time-wise lengthened" not discussion scope-wise? Is it related to "who talked more"?

gu82)How do groups make decisions? Do they simply follow the idea of the loudest member rather than consider each member's opinon?...They found a common tendency among groups to discuss ony the available information rather than to invite individuals to contribute additional knowledge. As a result, the groups often made poor decisions based on insufficient informaiton. Another strange trend was that in groups who talked more, members were extremely careful to avoid creating potential confusion or conflict by sticking to existing shared knowledge. For this reason, _____ the members engaged in more extended discussions, they were observed to actually share even less new information.
1. although 2. while 3. as

2 is possible. 3 is not.

[keannu]

Thanks, but why doesn't "as" work in there?
What about the second question?