Michelle van Diën – 413154md
Problem 4 – Teamwork
Part 1 – Do you know what I know?
DeChurch, L. A., & Mesmer-Magnus, J. R. (2010). The cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork:
A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 32–53. doi:10.1037/a0017328
Meta-analysis to empirically organize prior work on the basis of underlying dimensions of cognition,
team features, and study characteristics.
Research questions:
1. How important is cognition to team performance?
Major theoretical reviews of teams converge in specifying 3 types of mediators important to team
functioning: behavioral process, motivational-affective states, and cognitive emergent states;
estimated the impact of cognition and the relative contribution of the “big three” drivers of team
performance.
2. Which aspects of cognition are most pivotal to team process and performance?
The existing knowledge base on team cognition is composed of an eclectic group of studies with
different conceptual and operational definitions of cognition; examined the extent to which
particular aspects of cognition (varying in nature of emergence, form of cognition, and content)
affect team process and performance.
3. Which types of teams most benefit from team cognition?
Teams vary greatly in terms of interdependencies and task types; investigated differences in the
impact of cognition across different types of teams.
Perspectives on Team Cognition
Team effectiveness is a function of interaction processes and emergent states; mechanisms linking
inputs to valued team outcomes. Emergent states: cognitive, motivational, and affective properties
of teams. Team process describes the nature of team member interaction; emergent states describe
conditions that dynamically enable and underlie effective teamwork. Team cognition: an emergent
state that refers to the manner in which knowledge important to team functioning is mentally
organized, represented, and distributed within the team and allows team members to anticipate and
execute actions. Cognitive constructs: mental models and transactive memory systems. Distinction
centers on the importance ascribed to knowledge that is in some way held in common by team
members (shared mental model) versus knowledge that is distributed among team members
(transactive memory).
Team Mental Models
Team mental models: Expert teams develop compatibility in members’ cognitive understanding of
Problem 4 – Teamwork
Part 1 – Do you know what I know?
DeChurch, L. A., & Mesmer-Magnus, J. R. (2010). The cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork:
A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 32–53. doi:10.1037/a0017328
Meta-analysis to empirically organize prior work on the basis of underlying dimensions of cognition,
team features, and study characteristics.
Research questions:
1. How important is cognition to team performance?
Major theoretical reviews of teams converge in specifying 3 types of mediators important to team
functioning: behavioral process, motivational-affective states, and cognitive emergent states;
estimated the impact of cognition and the relative contribution of the “big three” drivers of team
performance.
2. Which aspects of cognition are most pivotal to team process and performance?
The existing knowledge base on team cognition is composed of an eclectic group of studies with
different conceptual and operational definitions of cognition; examined the extent to which
particular aspects of cognition (varying in nature of emergence, form of cognition, and content)
affect team process and performance.
3. Which types of teams most benefit from team cognition?
Teams vary greatly in terms of interdependencies and task types; investigated differences in the
impact of cognition across different types of teams.
Perspectives on Team Cognition
Team effectiveness is a function of interaction processes and emergent states; mechanisms linking
inputs to valued team outcomes. Emergent states: cognitive, motivational, and affective properties
of teams. Team process describes the nature of team member interaction; emergent states describe
conditions that dynamically enable and underlie effective teamwork. Team cognition: an emergent
state that refers to the manner in which knowledge important to team functioning is mentally
organized, represented, and distributed within the team and allows team members to anticipate and
execute actions. Cognitive constructs: mental models and transactive memory systems. Distinction
centers on the importance ascribed to knowledge that is in some way held in common by team
members (shared mental model) versus knowledge that is distributed among team members
(transactive memory).
Team Mental Models
Team mental models: Expert teams develop compatibility in members’ cognitive understanding of
