Theories of Team Cognition

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Why Cross-Disciplinary Theories of Team Cognition?

Eduardo Salas, Stephen M. Fiore and Michael P. Letsky

Teamwork, by its very definition, is achieved when members interact interdependently and work together toward shared and valued goals. Further, expert teamwork involves the adaptation of collaboration strategies through coordination, cooperation, and communication, as well as a collective understanding of the task so that the team can reach its goals (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2000). Cognitive psychology has substantially influenced the study of teams, and it has been over a decade since the original applications of constructs from cognitive psychology were used to foster the development of the team cognition movement (e.g., Cannon-Bowers, ...