Towards an understanding of macrocognition in teams: developing and defining complex collaborative processes and products

Abstract

One of the significant challenges for the burgeoning field of macrocognition is the development of more sophisticated models that are able to adequately explain and predict complex cognitive processes. This is even more critical when specifying research questions involving cognition unfolding across interacting individuals, that is, macrocognition in teams. In this article, we provide a foundation for developing a model of macrocognition focusing on collaborating problem-solving teams with a measurement framework for studying macrocognitive processes in this context. We first discuss an important set of key assumptions from team measurement theory that form a critical foundation for this model. We then describe the core definitions we suggest are foundational to the conceptualisation of macrocognition in teams. We conclude with a description of the key dimensions and subcomponents of our model in order to lay the foundation for a principled approach to measuring and understanding macrocognition in teams.

Keywords:

• team performance
• macrocognition in teams
• collaborative problem solving
• knowledge building
• external cognition
• team cognition

Acknowledgements

Dr Nancy Cooke, of Arizona State University, served as action editor for this manuscript. The views, opinions and findings contained in this article are of the authors and should not be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the University of Central Florida or the Department of Defense. We thank Heather Lum, Davin Pavlas and Mike Rosen for their insights on indices for measurement within the NEO scenario. Writing this article was supported by a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Grant from the Office of Naval Research to the University of Central Florida.