Theories of Team Cognition

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Elaborating Cognition in Teams: Cognitive Similarity Configurations

Joan R. Rentsch and Ioana R. Mot

Through selection, socialization, social construction, and negotiation processes, individuals working together will form similar understandings or interpretations of events occurring within and around the work unit including those related to their tasks, other individuals, leaders, the work environment, and so on. Similar interpretations or meanings of events are functional for people in groups and for groups of people. For example, they can smooth interactions, facilitate task completion, and enhance knowledge transfer (e.g., Dyer, 1984; Nieva, Fleishman, & Reick, 1985; Rentsch, Delise, & Hutchison, 2008). Indeed, similar interpretations may ...