Overloaded and Biased? Using Augmented Cognition to Understand the Interaction Between Information Overload and Cognitive Biases

• Published in: Foundations of Augmented Cognition: Neuroergonomics and Operational Neuroscience pp. 242 - 252
• Main Authors: Minas, Randall K., Crosby, Martha E.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Augmented cognition; Cognitive load and performance; Confirmation bias; Decision making; Electroencephalography; Virtual teams
• ISBN: 3319399543; 9783319399546
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-39955-3_23

Virtual teams are increasingly utilized in organizations, yet they often make poor decisions. Previous research has established that a primary cause of poor virtual team decision making is due to confirmation bias: team members focusing their cognitive resources on factual and normative information that supports pre-discussion preferences, rather than deeply considering information that challenges them. Building on this, the current study examines whether confirmation bias exists at varying levels of information load, establishing if confirmation bias is mediated by information overload. This study will utilize electroencephalography (EEG) and psychophysiology to examine changes in an individual’s processing of information at three levels of information load. The individual will participate in a simulated team discussion on a decision-making task. These findings will elucidate whether virtual team members use confirmation bias as a heuristic problem solving approach in response to information overload or if confirmation bias is present in all virtual team interactions.