Summary: Distributed cognition theory explains how thinking involves not only one’s mind but also other people and external artifacts. A framework rooted in this theory can guide consistent and in-depth observations of users’ physical and social settings, processes, habits, and workflows.
In the 1998 article called “The Extended Mind,” philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers wrote about the active role of the environment in cognitive processes. The idea that “cognitive processes ain’t (all) in the head!” has become foundational for the distributed cognition theory (DCog) . The critical point of that theory is that thinking is not confined to the limits of one person and their brain but occurs when people interact with each other and with material artifacts.
DCog has been successfully used to explain how complex systems of people and technology work together. For example, the distributed-cognition approach was applied to examine the design of ship-navigation systems, air-traffic–control rooms, and shared-database systems. One of the most well-known examples is Ed Hutchins’s work on commercial-airplane cockpits. He showed that to understand what happens in a cockpit, one needs to look at both the rules and instructions, the layout of the space, and the communication among people in the air and on the ground. For instance, Hutchins observed how pilots relied on external scaffolding: distinct interface design with buttons of different shapes and sizes, pieces of paper, and “speed bugs” — physical markers on speed indicators that correspond to specific speed targets for takeoff, landing, and maneuvers.
