Collaborative Research: DRMS:Group cognition, stress arousal, and environment feedbacks in decision making and adaptation under uncertainty

To solve complex problems, such as the sustainable use of ground water, diverse people must cooperate to share resources in uncertain environments. This project proposes and tests a model of the interdependence between stress, cognition, changes in the abundance of resources, and group decision-making. The model contributes to the science of group decision-making by investigating how stress (biology) and resources (the environment) impact how groups make decisions.

The model seeks to explain why some groups of diverse people coalesce and effectively manage shared resources in uncertain environments, while others fail. The results of the project inform decision-makers faced with complex challenges related to climate variability, public health, and defense by building tools for diverse teams to cultivate systems thinking, manage shared resources, and improve cooperation over time. The project also broadens participation in online education and systems thinking skills.

This project develops and tests an embedded Model of Adaptive Capacity (eACM). The eACM proposes that the capacity of groups to continually solve complex problems depends on the ability of individuals to cognize key challenges in a resource system and to converge on joint solutions to those challenges. The eACM couples resource dynamics with individual variation in mind-body systems through the process of group sensemaking.

Sensemaking occurs when groups create an understanding of their environment and form joint plans of action for cooperation. The project tests the eACM through behavioral experiments and manipulation of stress. Formal models of the systems dynamics of group decision-making aid in generalizing the results of the experiments.

The project pushes the boundaries of theory by converging the study of cognition with the study of stress arousal in strategic decision-making, generating a more integrated explanation for the biological and cognitive foundations of adaptive teams. The results of the project enhance online education and systems thinking skills for diverse students and teams.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.