Motivated information processing in organizational teams: Progress, puzzles, and prospects

Much of the research into group and team functioning looks at groups that perform cognitive tasks, such as decision making, problem solving, and innovation. The Motivated Information Processing in Groups Model (MIP-G; De Dreu, Nijstad, & Van Knippenberg, 2008) conjectures that information processing within such groups is strongly affected by two types of motivation: epistemic motivation (low-high) is thought to drive the depth of information processing, whereas social motivation (pro-self-pro-social) will influence the kind of information that is processed. The model predicts that high quality group outcomes may be expected especially when high epistemic motivation is coupled with pro-social motivation, because under these conditions groups process information extensively to foster collective goals. Here we review the model, its evidence, and some puzzling findings. We integrate this work with adjacent literatures on shared mental models and transactive memory systems, and extend the model to situations in which groups face rivaling out-groups and regulate intergroup competition and conflict. Throughout our review, we highlight possibilities for further research and propose testable hypotheses.