B OIDS, D ROIDS, & N OIDS : D ESCRIPTION AND I MPLICATIONS OF AN I NTEGRATIVE R ESEARCH P ARADIGM ON M ACROCOGNITION Steve W.J. Kozlowski Georgia T. Chao 27 th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology April 28, 2012 James A. Grand Michael T. Braun Goran Kuljanin The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this presentation are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as an official Department of the Navy or Department of Defense position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other documentation.

Background – Defining and modeling the dynamics of macrocognition Theory integration and development – Macrocognitive process model Research paradigm & results – Computational simulation – CRONUS Implications & future directions Boids, Droids, & Noids: Description and Implications of an Integrative Research Paradigm on Macrocognition 2

– Internalized knowledge : problem representations and/or task-relevant knowledge held by individual team members – Externalized knowledge : problem representations and/or task-relevant knowledge explicitly shared & acknowledged by multiple team members 3 Macrocognition: the process of transforming internalized knowledge into externalized team knowledge through individual and team knowledge building processes (Fiore et al., 2010)

– Individual knowledge building processes : intra-individual activities related to information gathering, synthesizing, and interpretation (i.e., learning ) – Team knowledge building processes : inter-individual activities related to information sharing, explanation, and consensus-building (i.e., sharing ) 4 Macrocognition: the process of transforming internalized knowledge into externalized team knowledge through individual and team knowledge building processes (Fiore et al., 2010)

Complex macrocognitive outcomes and patterns (i.e., internalized and externalized knowledge) emerge as a result of these distinctive intra-individual and inter-individual processes (e.g., Kozlowski & Klein, 2000) 5 Team members learn certain information with varying levels of effectiveness and efficiency… …thus impacting the speed & quality of team planning and decision-making …leading to within-team variance in knowledge acquisition rates... Relevant Knowledge Pool Decision Point

Use of agent-based models to conceptualize emergent behavior – Simple, ruled-based interactions among constituent units produces higher- level/collective behavior (Reynolds, 1986) 6 Da’ BOIDS (Reynolds, 1986) Separation Move to avoid collisions with flockmates Alignment Steer towards average heading of flockmates Cohesion Move towards average position of flockmates 123 Flocking Behavior in BOIDS

Macrocognitive process model describes how fundamental learning and sharing mechanisms lead to emergence of macrocognitive outcomes 7 Select Data to Learn Learning Rate: Acquisition Knowledge Internalized: Non-overlap Internalized: Partial overlap Internalized: Full overlap Knowledge Pool Learning Rate: Sharing Acknowledge Externalized: Partial overlap Externalized: Full overlap Sharing Inter-Individual Intra-Individual Select Data to Learn Knowledge Pool Shared information directs/focuses subsequent learning 1 2 New information from sharing

8 Computational simulation based on macrocognitive process model Experimental task to test macrocognitive process model

Simulated agents ( DROIDS ) – Like the BOIDS, our DROIDS follow simple rules to determine: » What & when to learn » What & when to share/communicate Simulation details – 3000 three-person teams – Varied three parameters: » Member learning rates » Member sharing frequency » Proportion of common & unique information 9 Computational simulation based on macrocognitive process model Boids, Droids, & Noids: Description and Implications of an Integrative Research Paradigm on Macrocognition

Real teams ( NOIDS ) – CRONUS – Crisis Relief Operation: Naval Unit Simulation » Ad hoc teams with distributed expertise (Fiore et al., 2010) » Goal is to learn & share all relevant information in order to make optimal decision Pilot study – ~10 three-person teams participated in nine trials varying from 8-12 minutes in length – Explore diagnostic value of TKT metrics » Compare to results of computational simulation 10 Experimental task to test macrocognitive process model Boids, Droids, & Noids: Description and Implications of an Integrative Research Paradigm on Macrocognition

11...as a result, when a team member reaches their individual learning “potential” before other members......they are “stuck” and must remain idle for a longer period of time as they wait for the slower teammates to acquire knowledge and begin sharing. Team members acquire information at different rates... Simulated Team (DROIDS)

12 A similar pattern emerges with real human actors! Variation in learning rates......which leads to longer periods of idleness for faster learners....means people reach their maximum individual learning potential at different points... Simulated Team (DROIDS) Human Team (NOIDS)

13 As individuals acquire and share information, different distribution patterns emerge that are reflective of individual and team learning strategies Simulated Team (DROIDS) An effective team is one that can quickly distribute information across all team members Thus, the manner by which the non- and partially overlapping curves fluctuate is indicative of how teams are sharing & distributing information

14 Each team member learns their own unique expertise quickly, thus producing a sharp increase in non- overlapping information. Members then share their information with others, though in no particular order. As a result, each member can essentially pick when and which information to learn randomly, which produces a “bell-shaped” pattern of partially-overlapping information. Fast Learning, Random Sharing Human Team (NOIDS) Simulated Team (DROIDS)

Emergence of macrocognitive outcomes conceptually and analytically modeled utilizing principles of agent-based modeling (i.e., BOIDS) Comparable results from computational simulation (DROIDS) and CRONUS (NOIDS) lend support to foundations of macrocognitive process model Current and future directions within research paradigm – Development of embedded interventions to improve macrocognitive processes – Examination of information uncertainty using DROIDS and NOIDS – Improving team decision-making based on macrocognitive outcomes 15

B OIDS, D ROIDS, & N OIDS : D ESCRIPTION AND I MPLICATIONS OF AN I NTEGRATIVE R ESEARCH P ARADIGM ON M ACROCOGNITION Steve W.J. Kozlowski Georgia T. Chao 27 th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology April 28, 2012 James A. Grand Michael T. Braun Goran Kuljanin The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this presentation are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as an official Department of the Navy or Department of Defense position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other documentation.