This paper proposes to use cognitive multi-agent based simulation to facilitate human team formation decision processes. The models of organizational actors are acquired by a data-gathering monitoring system that stores all the interactions that take place in the selected cooperative task. In this knowledge acquisition process, only a relatively small number of team compositions are monitored. The extracted models are used in the agent-based simulation of all the possible team compositions. Simulated team compositions are evaluated and only a small set of the most promising ones is submitted to the human decision maker. An emergence model overrides the multi-agent based simulation in localized situations for which the involved set of agents should not be trusted. The model of the simulation agents is a motivated case-based reasoning system, in which the regular functioning of the CBR is biased to fulfil the agent's motives. The motivation model includes individual motivation and ...