Cognition, Teams, and Augmenting Team Cognition: Understanding Memory Failures in Distributed Human-Agent Teams

Based upon the integration of constructs from organizational and cognitive science we present a theoretical framework for understanding memory function in the context of human-agent teams. To support the development of true Human Systems Integration, we use this approach to meld robust concepts in human cognition with human agent team research. Our goal is to illustrate the theoretical and practical importance of these concepts to team cognition in general and augmented cognition in particular. We discuss this through theory in human memory and memory failures and integrate approaches to illustrate their value to developing research plans for augmenting cognition. 1 Integrating Systems and Humans From the organizational sciences the field of team research has matured substantially over the latter part of the 20 Century. Similarly, the cognitive sciences have grown tremendously upon a strong theoretical and empirical foundation. Only in the last decade have these two fields begun to more formally interact to produce what is now being called “team cognition” (see Salas & Fiore, 2004). Based upon the integration of constructs from organizational and cognitive science we present a theoretical framework for considering human-agent team functioning. In order to support the development of true Human Systems Integration, we use this approach to meld robust concepts from the cognitive sciences with human agent team research. Our goal with this is to illustrate their importance to team cognition in general and augmented cognition in particular. We first discuss this through the lens of HSI and then narrow our focus to memory and memory failures. Finally we integrate these approaches to illustrate their value to developing research plans for augmenting cognition. 1.1 Human Systems Integration Over the last decade, the Department of Defense has made increasing use of findings from the cognitive and computational sciences within its “human-systems integration” (HSI) program. This is a broad based concept for systems acquisitions programs requiring a level of analysis able to model how tools can support the human in his/her tasks. This includes not only single operators engaged with a given system (Salas & Klein 2001) but also encompasses how teams interact over time and space with distributed technologies (cf. Fiore et al., 2003) and similarly encompasses how intelligent agents are being integrated with modern systems (e.g., McNeese, Salas, & Endsley, 2001; Sycara & Lewis, 2004). HSI doctrine has developed to ensure that both the design of systems and their eventual development are able to fully support the human operator (Clark & Goulder, 2002; Freeman & Paley, 2001; Freeman, Pharmer, Lorenzen, Santoro, & Kieras, 2002; Pharmer, Dunn, & Santarelli, 2001). Report Documentation Page Form Approved