Effects of Socio-Cognitive Conflicts on Group Cognition and Group Performance

Abstract

Socio-cognitive conflict is a mechanism that drives cognitive development/learning in collaborative learning. Such conflicts occur when individuals have different perspectives on the same problem. To adequately solve problems, groups face the challenge of integrating different perspectives, which when successful can result in an increase in shared knowledge (i.e., knowledge convergence), an intermediate process-related collaborative learning outcome. Knowledge convergence plays an important role in explaining the quality of group performance, an ultimate collaborative learning outcome.

However, students do not always learn from one another in groups, with studies revealing variability in collaborative learning outcomes. Among other factors, their communication can be unproductive or productive. This mixed evidence could be because: (1) interactions have not been analyzed using instruments developed with theoretical and empirical underpinnings within a socio-cognitive conflict paradigm to measure a comprehensive range of socio-cognitive processes; and (2) it is insufficient to assign group tasks without providing any scaffolding.

My study acknowledges these issues and uses a randomized experimental design that aims to: (1) Test out a script that strives to scaffold interactions to generate collaborative socio-cognitive processes. To analyze interactions, my study uses an instrument capable of identifying a comprehensive range of socio-cognitive processes; and (2) Examine the effect of socio-cognitive processes on knowledge convergence and consequently on the quality of group performance.

Findings suggest that the script offers a promising way to facilitate the type of productive communication to make group-work beneficial. It generated interactions with collaborative socio-cognitive processes. Additionally, the frequency of collaborative socio-cognitive processes is positively related to the increase in shared knowledge in terms of the number of similar elements and statements members had in common after dyads’ interactions. Also, the increase in the number of similar elements is positively related to the quality of dyads’ performance, whereas there is no corresponding effect for statements.

Implications for designing collaborative learning activities include requiring the duration of students’ interactions to be long enough to have sufficient collaborative socio-cognitive processes so as to have substantial knowledge convergence and higher quality of group performance. Future studies include addressing issues regarding measurement accuracy in analyzing chat-logs and knowledge convergence.