Michael P. Letsky - Macrocognition in Teams

MACROCOGNITION IN TEAMS

Theories and Methodologies

Edited by

MICHAEL P. LETSKY
Office of Naval Research, Arlington, USA,

NORMAN W. WARNER
Naval Air Systems Command, USA

STEPHEN M. FIORE
University of Central Florida, USA

C.A.P. SMITH
Colorado State University, USA

ASHGATE

Michael P. Letsky, Norman W. Warner, Stephen M. Fiore and C.A.P. Smith, 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

Michael P. Letsky, Norman W. Warner, Stephen M. Fiore and C.A.P. Smith have asserted their moral rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Macrocognition in teams : theories and methodologies.

(Human factors in defence)

1. Teams in the workplace 2. Cognition

I. Letsky, Michael P.

658.4022

ISBN: 978-0-7546-7325-5
ISBN: 978-1-4094-8577-3 (ebk-ePUB)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Macrocognition in teams : theories and methodologies / by Michael P. Letsky ... [et al.].

p. cm. -- (Human factors in defence)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7546-7325-5

1. Teams in the workplace. 2. Cognition. I. Letsky, Michael P.

HD66.M335 2008

658.4022--dc22

2008005948

Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Book Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall.

Table 14.1 Collaborative critical thinking behaviors defined
and applied to two objects of analysis: team products and team process

This volume is about the study of high-level cognitive processing in teamwork. It represents the first forum upon which we hope the science of macrocognition will grow and prosper. We hope this volume motivates a deeper and richer dialogue amongst those interested in team performance in one-of-a-kind scenarios. Although the topic addressed here is focused on the study of high-level mental processing in complex problem-solving teams, the research products have the potential to be a major factor in our evolution toward global and international problem resolution. More specifically, the domain this volume considers includes teams engaging in brainstorming, decision-making, intelligence analysis, disaster relief, mission planning and many other activities that share the properties of short-fused, high stakes, one-of-a-kind, complex problem-solving. Such teams also often include multidisciplinary or multicultural members, uncertainty of source information and participants that are often geographically distributed and engaging in teamwork asynchronously. These characteristics broadly define the domain of interest considered here.

The evolving military strategy of Defense Transformation dictates the use of small, autonomous, quick-response teams rather than use of massive forces with large weapons platforms. So too, the commercial world seems to be wrestling with these same issues as geometrically advancing sociotechnical systems produce floods of data and international partnerships create challenges in the rapid transfer of knowledge. Teams that work in this environment will need different sets of tools and new capabilities that might be described as advanced knowledge processing and the ability to rapidly exchange meaning among distributed team members.

In this book we have focused upon macrocognition as the term descriptive of the cognitive processes to be studied. The term has been used previously to describe the study of cognition in real-to-life situations, but here we expand the concept through a reductionism approach that proposes that these fundamental concepts can be studied both in a laboratory environment and in the field setting, with the results being extensible for use in other applications. A more detailed definition of macrocognition and a conceptual model is offered in the introductory chapter. The purpose of this preliminary model is to serve as a conceptual framework to understand macrocognition in teams along with focusing research efforts. Since the study of macrocognition is truly interdisciplinary including contributions from psychology, philosophy, computer science, mathematics and business management many of the terms used that have the same label have different meanings across the contributing disciplines. This has been a significant problem both in terms of communication of findings as well as determining where best to publish the research findings. To date the psychology literature base has been the main target of publications generated to provide a contextual reference for non-sequential topics throughout the text.

As previously mentioned, macrocognition is one component that comprises team performance. For the purpose of defining our scope of effort, we recognize that training, human behavior, team formation, expertise and many other factors contribute to team performance. However, for study of our central topic these factors are assumed to be held constant. It is also recognized that many enabling technologies contribute to team performance including sociotechnical systems, human factors in design issues and human performance modeling of perception, attention and reaction. These technologies are regarded as necessary and supporting tools in the study of team performance but are not considered as an area to be examined within the scope of this text.

The topic of study described herein had its inception in the fall of 1999 with the establishment of the Collaboration and Knowledge Interoperability Program at the Office of Naval Research. The nature of the program is Discovery and Invention, ONRs term for fundamental research. The program is supplemented by Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) projects which serve as a source of funding for applications work. A Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project was started in 2005, adding a significant additional increment of basic research effort. The structure and strategy of the CKI program was initiated then from these funding sources in the form of a basic research investment, supplemented by two testbeds for technology demonstration purposes and a series of applications projects to develop tools to support team problem-solving and decision-making. The structure of this volume also follows from this alignment of projects. The first section reports on the contributions of research grants, both at various universities and Navy labs. The second section reports the results of the various applications (SBIR) projects that are part of the program and the final section discusses the structure and employment of the two research product testbeds that are part of the program.

In summary, this book is intended to serve both academic and applications interests. Products could be employed in both military and commercial settings as is the objectives of the SBIR projects. The contribution of this volume and the program is aimed at improving team performance, specifically quick response,