Information Processing Model

One model used to identify how an individual’s cognitive functions work is the information-processing model. The information-processing model includes the following generic components: the processing objective, information, response, and feedback (Hinsz, Tindale, & Vollrath, 1997).

The Information Processing Components

• The processing objective
• Information
• Response
• Feedback

Once a stimulus is encountered, information relating to this stimulus — contextual information — enters the processing objective (Hinsz et al., 1997). If attention is directed to the new information then the information phase is activated, in which this information is encoded, stored, and made available for retrieval. The response phase is activated once an individual decides to act on the new stimulus, which is followed by a feedback mechanism that compares one’s stored knowledge with what is actually occurring. In the context of an individual team member, the information-processing model “refers to the individual group member’s tendencies to search for, attend to, select, encode, and retrieve information from outside the group boundary, from other group members, and from memory” (De Dreu & Beersma, 2010, p. 1111).

The information-processing model is useful to identify how information is processed at the group level (De Dreu & Beersma, 2010; Hinsz et al., 1997). Much like that of an individual, a team’s information-processing model is directed on contextual knowledge — information the group as a whole is attending to (Hinsz et al., 1997). At the team level, information is shared in an open format with a full exchange of information (De Dreu & Beersma, 2010). Information can be recalled from other team members, decreasing the amount of cognitive load that is placed on any one individual team member. Team knowledge, for example, can be dispersed among the various team members rather than requiring one team member to store all the information required to complete a task. This shared cognition, at the team level, is one of the main advantages of utilizing teams for complex tasks.

Effective teamwork and decision making requires team members to hold similar cognitive structures and distinctive knowledge configurations (DeChurch & Mesmer-Magnus, 2010). To study these shared knowledge configurations that team members hold, researchers have studied shared cognitive constructs. Team cognition and team shared cognitive constructs are an emerging field of study which is identified by the multitude of terms and research studies found in the literature (Akkerman et al., 2007).

Shared cognition, within teams and small groups, represents the collective understanding among team members regarding team member interactions and team tasks (Hinsz & Ladbury, 2012). The literature describes team cognition as the organized understanding of this collective knowledge among team members (Mohammed & Dumville, 2001), enabling team members to make sense of and to acquire knowledge necessary to execute actions (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). Shared cognition provides a way for team members to structure collective meaning and to coordinate their activities toward task achievement (Akkerman et al., 2007).

A team’s cognitive model transcends each team member’s cognitive model, fostering better quality decision-making capabilities from the collective (Tzeng, 2006). This sharing of cognitions between team members allows teams to complete tasks more efficiently, improving team effectiveness (DeChurch & Mesmer-Magnus, 2010; Hinsz & Ladbury, 2012; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). Team cognition has been shown to be an indicator of team performance, providing team members with a shared understanding of any problems and their resolution techniques (Johnson & O’Connor, 2008). Shared cognition provides the benefits of being a predictor of learning and performance (Cannon-Bowers & Salas, 2001) while providing teams with better decision-making capabilities. Akkerman et al. (2007) supported that shared cognition provides a better understanding of how team members learn from one another, improving the team learning process. Shared cognition has been attributed to better task performance, better team processes, better motivational outcomes (Cannon-Bowers & Salas, 2001), while allowing teams to accomplish their goals more successfully (Hinsz & Ladbury, 2012).