Social Transmission of Overconfidence and Team Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between social transmission of overconfidence and team performance. We explored the moderating effect of analytical and intuitive cognitive styles and situational awareness on social transmission of overconfidence on team performance to gain a comprehensive understanding of this relation. An experimental study was conducted, and a sample of 567 participants provided the basis for this study. The results revealed, as expected, that social transmission of overconfidence will be negatively associated with team performance. We found no support for either of our moderating hypotheses, however, we did find significant direct effects of two of our moderating variables, which were analytical style and situational awareness on team performance. The implications for theory and practice, as well as the direction of future research, are discussed. Keywords: Overconfidence, Social Transmission of Overconfidence, Groupthink, Situational Awareness, Cognitive style, Analytical Cognitive Style, Intuitive Cognitive Style.