Shared Information,Cognitive Load,and Group Memory

Abstract

One of the key findings concerning how groups process information is the ‘common knowledge effect’—information shared by many group members plays a larger role in group process and performance than unshared information. However, in an information rich environment, assigning all information to all members may overload each member’s cognitive capabilities. Thus, the question addressed here is how to optimally assign information to group members. Following a model proposed by Zajonc and Smoke (1959), we assessed the effects of information assignment redundancy and group interaction on group memory performance. Participants in five-person groups either received a full list of consonant-verb-consonant non-word trigrams to memorize, or a partial list with each trigram distributed to two group members. Groups recalled the trigrams as either coacting or interacting groups. In terms of correct recall, coacting groups outperformed interacting groups, and partial redundancy produced better recall than total redundancy. However, intrusion errors were greatly reduced by group interaction and/or a reduction in the cognitive load on the individual group members (i.e. partial redundancy). Groups in the partial redundancy condition tended to perform near optimal levels. Implications for future research on information distribution in groups are discussed.