Information Adequacy, The Math Behind Meetings and Pizza with Colleagues

Cognicent | 26, February, 2025 | Newsletter

Welcome to the February edition of our new Insights!

This edition highlights fascinating insights into human behaviour and workplace dynamics. From the illusion of information adequacy, the math behind scheduling meetings, to the not so surprising benefits of simply sharing a pizza with colleagues, these studies offer valuable takeaways for both personal and professional growth.

Humans have a curious ability to think that their perspective on a subject is true, accurate, and founded on complete  information. What we have come to realise, though, is that this is not the case. In a study conducted at Ohio State University, researchers found that human beings naturally assume they have all the information they need to make a decision or form their views, even when they only have half the story. This is known as the Illusion of Information Adequacy.

Even further to this, though, is the finding that not only do we believe that our assumptions are correct, but we also assume that others would come to the same conclusion.

If you’ve ever been on the roads with a painfully slow driver and thought of them as an “idiot” or conversely, with a speeding driver and considered them a “maniac”, you’ve likely made an assumption about them without necessarily getting the full picture. The challenge is that the Illusion of Information Adequacy can derail our ability to understand the perspectives of others which may have further impacts on our professional and personal relationships.

Consider for yourself:

1. Do you find yourself getting righteous about your perspective?

2. Asking ourselves questions like “What am I missing?” or “Do I have the full story” can help to curb this natural human tendency.

Article Reference:

Hunter Gehlbach, Carly D. Robinson, Angus Fletcher. The illusion of information adequacy. PLOS ONE, 2024; 19 (10): e0310216 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310216

We are sure that you have heard the saying “there’s never going to be a perfect time” when trying to schedule holidays or make plans with friends. Similarly, we are sure you’ve run into this same challenge when attempting to schedule a meeting too. Well, researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland decided to look into the maths behind this challenge. They identified that the number of meeting participants, in conjunction with the number of meeting time options, and the number of times each participant is unavailable makes scheduling a meeting highly complicated.

Of note, researchers found that when the number of participants grows, the likelihood of successfully finding a suitable meeting time sharply decreases. More specifically though, they found that when the number of participants exceeds five, the probability drops dramatically.

Consider this for your meetings:

1. Are you fighting against the probabilities of meetings? Could pivoting your approach to meetings assist you?

2. Consider limiting the number of participants to no more than five.

Article Reference:

Katherine Brown, Harsh Mathur, Onuttom Narayan. Scheduling meetings: are the odds in your favor? The European Physical Journal B, 2024; 97 (8) DOI: 10.1140/epjb/s10051-024-00742-z

We all know and understand the idea of team building, and we can recognise that when done well, it can have lasting effects on working relationships. But why? In this study, researchers looked at the idea that even the simplest events (such as going out for a bite to eat) helps form memories around shared experiences that contribute to enhanced working relationships. Consider going out with colleagues for lunch. One colleague goes to eat their pizza but spills all the topping down their shirt. While slightly problematic for the person in question, the memory of this moment assists in creating shared experiences within the team, strengthening bonds. Researchers found that by socialising with your colleagues and building these shared moments you become part of the ‘in-group’ at work. This, in turn, enables a greater ability to challenge opinions and share your perspective in the workplace.

While not necessarily a groundbreaking finding, it does raise the question of how frequently we invest in social interactions that extend beyond corridor chats or email communications.

Consider for you in your workplace:

1. Do you schedule time to socialise with your team and with other teams in your organisation as well?

2. If not, where could be some opportunities to do this?

Article Reference:

Sung‐Chul Noh, Matthew C. B. Lyle, Boram Do. ‘We Can Win this Fight Together’: Memory and Cross‐Occupational Coordination. Journal of Management Studies, 2024; DOI: 10.1111/joms.13146

We hope that you have a safe, well and productive rest of your week.

– The Cognicent Team