Development of a Model of Group Cognitive Complexity: A Combined View of a Group Compositional and a Group-as-a-whole Perspective

Development of a Model of Group Cognitive Complexity: A Combined View of a Group Compositional and a Group-as-a-whole Perspective

Drawing on the input-process-output model (Hackman 1987), this study attempts to integrate two different perspectives on group-level cognition: a compositional and a group-as-a-whole perspective. A compositional perspective focuses on individual member cognitions and then examines how cognitions of group members combine to produce group-level cognition. In contrast, a group-as-a-whole perspective views group cognition as an emergent quality resulting from group interactions. Using the concept of cognitive complexity, this study explores some aspects of group compositions as a cause for an emergent property of group cognitive complexity, which in turn affects group decision-making effectiveness. This study introduces a causal mapping combined with a group discussion method as a useful tool to measure group cognitive complexity as a collective phenomenon.

Drawing on the input-process-output model (Hackman 1987), this study attempts to integrate two different perspectives on group-level cognition: a compositional and a group-as-a-whole perspective. A compositional perspective focuses on individual member cognitions and then examines how cognitions of group members combine to produce group-level cognition. In contrast, a group-as-a-whole perspective views group cognition as an emergent quality resulting from group interactions. Using the concept of cognitive complexity, this study explores some aspects of group compositions as a cause for an emergent property of group cognitive complexity, which in turn affects group decision-making effectiveness. This study introduces a causal mapping combined with a group discussion method as a useful tool to measure group cognitive complexity as a collective phenomenon.