Expert Teams: Do Shared Mental Models of Team Members make a Difference?
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of the present thesis was to investigate whether and how familiarity\ninfluences coordination, resilience, and efficiency in high performance teams in safetycritical\norganizations. Research has accumulated solid support for the general presumption\nthat shared mental models are associated with team effectiveness (see overview, Kozlowski\n& Ilgen, 2006). Unfortunately, familiarity and shared mental models have seldom been the\nsubject of investigation. This is surprising since the importance of team members having a\nshared understanding is underlined in dynamic situations that require high levels of\nflexibility and adaptability in the team (Cannon-Bowers et al., 1993; Salas & Fiore, 2004).\nThe first study investigated whether knowledge about individual team members\nwould augment the effect of operational skills in predicting operational effectiveness in\ntrained expert teams. The second study investigated the consequences of shared mental\nmodels (SMM) of team members in teams that are forced to coordinate their activities\ntowards a shared goal in a distributed team setting. The third study investigated whether\nshared mental models of team members would transfer across new tasks or situations and,\nthrough better coordination, result in improved efficiency and less physiological arousal.\nStudy 1 included samples from 24 active duty officers who made up four submarine\nattack teams. Studies 2 and 3 included a total of 177 cadets from the Royal Norwegian Naval\nAcademy. The findings from these three studies indicate that familiar teams used\ncoordination strategies that enhanced efficiency. The coordination strategies used by familiar\nteams are characterized by less overt communication (statements per minute) during high\nworkload (Study 1), a higher global anticipation rate (Study 2), and more adaptability and\nback-up statements during cross-training (Study 3). In addition, familiar teams showed more\novert communication (e.g., confirmation) when confronted with a novel situation (Studies 2\nand 3). Familiar teams outperformed unfamiliar teams, being more accurate, quicker and\nachieving greater mission success (i.e., more hits). Familiar teams were more\nphysiologically aroused (HR) during low workload (Study 2), and less during high workload\n(Study 1), recovery (Studies 2 and 3), and decreasingly so during training (Study 3).\nThese three studies extend previous research by presenting new empirical data on the\nsignificance of shared mental models of team members. Study 1 demonstrated that\nknowledge about team members (i.e., shared mental models of team members) adds to\nperformance over and above the contribution of operational skills (Aim 1). Studies 2\nconfirmed Study 1 (within teams) and provide empirical evidence for the effect of shared\nmental models of team members in distributed teams (Aim 2). The findings from Study 3\nsuggest that shared mental models of team members are transferable across tasks and\nenhance the effects of cross-training (Aim 3). All studies extend previous research, but\nStudy 3 in particular indicates that shared mental models of team members are distinctly\ndifferent from transactive memory systems (Aim 3). Hence, a shared mental model of team\nmembers represents an independent, adaptive asset at team level that enhances team\nperformance and efficiency.\nThese studies are the first to provide empirical evidence in support of the notion that\nshared mental models of team members are a mechanism that improves teams’ efficiency,\nresilience, and coordination. This thesis confirms shared mental models of team members as\nan important and independent construct with an added value in relation to team performance\nand efficiency. It thus expands previous knowledge, where the focus has been on\nequipment, tasks, and team interaction. The findings are a contribution to and fill an\nimportant gap in the literature on Shared Mental Models. Implications are discussed for\ntraining, staffing and safety issues in teams in safety-critical organizations.
Source: BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway))
Author: Roar Espevik
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2484919883