Theory of collective mind

Garriy Shteynberg; Jacob B Hirsh; Wouter Wolf; John A Bargh; Erica J Boothby; Andrew M Colman; Gerald Echterhoff; Maya Rossignac-Milon

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2023.06.009

Theory of collective mind

Trends Cogn Sci. 2023 Nov;27(11):1019-1031. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.06.009. Epub 2023 Jul 31.

Authors

Garriy Shteynberg¹, Jacob B Hirsh², Wouter Wolf³, John A Bargh⁴, Erica J Boothby⁵, Andrew M Colman⁶, Gerald Echterhoff⁷, Maya Rossignac-Milon⁸

Affiliations

¹ University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. Electronic address: gshteynb@utk.edu.
² University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁴ Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁵ University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁶ University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
⁷ University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
⁸ IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 37532600
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.06.009

Abstract

Theory of mind research has traditionally focused on the ascription of mental states to a single individual. Here, we introduce a theory of collective mind: the ascription of a unified mental state to a group of agents with convergent experiences. Rather than differentiation between one's personal perspective and that of another agent, a theory of collective mind requires perspectival unification across agents. We review recent scholarship across the cognitive sciences concerning the conceptual foundations of collective mind representations and their empirical induction through the synchronous arrival of shared information. Research suggests that representations of a collective mind cause psychological amplification of co-attended stimuli, create relational bonds, and increase cooperation, among co-attendees.

Keywords: collective awareness; collective consciousness; collective meta-cognition; collective rationality; team reasoning; theory of mind.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Humans
Theory of Mind*