The Origins of Cognitive and Action Errors in Communication Networks

Tanaka, Kyosuke

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-rpm4-nc69

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The Origins of Cognitive and Action Errors in Communication Networks

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This dissertation explores cognitive and action errors that occur in communication networks. I leverage theories on organizational errors and social networks to develop a novel, conceptual, and empirically testable framework to understand how individuals make errors when using their networks to share information. Here, I argue that information sharing is not only what to share but also with whom to share, and mistakenly sharing information with unintended members has consequences. Despite the prevalence of this type of network error, little is known about its origins.In this dissertation, I propose a conceptual framework for differentiating between two levels of network errors: (a) cognitive network errors and (b) action network errors. Prior scholarship on social networks has predominantly focused on cognitive network errors that occur when people incorrectly perceive their network. But this prior research provides little insight into action network errors that take place as individuals act on their networks. Organizational error literature has extensively studied action errors (e.g., unintentional deviations from plans, goals, or feedback processing), yet few studies consider action network errors. I argue that integrating organizational error and social network perspectives will provide pivotal insights into how and why organizational communication, such as information sharing, often fails. Based on the conceptual framework, my research objective is to empirically examine how individuals make cognitive and action network errors. To address this research question, I conducted two empirical studies. Drawing on data from 23 network sessions (N = 212 participants), the first empirical study examines how people overestimate and underestimate the presence of communication links by comparing the observed network with their perceived network. Comparing the actual communication networks (who was actually connected to whom) and perceived networks (who was perceived by others to be connected with whom), I observe that participants tend to overestimate the presence of communication links between people who are members of the same formal group or embedded in informal structures (e.g., reciprocity and social distance) and underestimate the presence of links between people who are in different groups and who are farther from them in the social network. These findings provide insight into how people’s perceptions of “who knows whom” hinder their ability to share information effectively. In a laboratory study, including 23 pre-existing group networks (N = 405 participants), the second empirical study investigates who commits action network errors and who is more likely to learn from them. In the study, each group engaged in a network routing task, similar to Milgram’s small-world task. Results show that individuals’ errors and their ability to learn from errors are explained by dispositional factors (who individuals are), positional factors (where they are in the network), and the interplay between these factors. Taken together, these findings of the two empirical studies expand the focus to explore network errors that occur within communication networks. Hence, this dissertation contributes to theoretical advancement in the study of social networks, organizational errors, group processes, and organizational communication.

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