Trans
Ether
Active
Memory
System
(TEAMS):
MNEMONIC

Project Concept: TRANSACTIVE MEMORY THEORY AND THE “GROUP MIND”

The concept of interest is Transactive Memory Theory, used by information scientists and social science researchers.  This theory refers to the attributes of effective data collection, storage, and dissemination.  Although information scientists used this theory as a foundation for knowledge management (repositories of information that could be searched to gather needed data), communication scholars use the theory to hypothesize why what a group produces can be better than what an individual alone produces. 

Our team was inspired by the following core constructs of Transactive Memory (TM:

1) TM is a “shared system for encoding, storing, retrieving data” (Wegner et al, 1991)
2) The performance of a group gains from knowledge sharing
3) The “group mind” (new social intelligence) develops when individuals work together
4) “Directories” are where group emotions, activity, knowledge are stored
5) Self-disclosure is the sharing of personal data; even emotions amongst the group

For our project design, we utilized the TM concept of “system” to design a process of sharing information between group members (brain waves, muscle impulses, musical performance) and a computer (our “directory” – gathers, stores and translates data).  Each member of the group shares their unique set of data and is, in turn, affected by another member’s data.  We believe, as the TM theorists contend, that “the outcome is better” (Wegner et al, 1991) when the group works together sharing data, then when individuals perform alone.

Core References
Wegner, D. M., Raymond, P., & Erber, R. (1991). Transactive memory in close relationships.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(6), 923-929.
Hollingshead, A. B., & Brandon, D. P. (2003). Potential benefits of communication in TMS. Human Communication Research, 29(4), 607-615.