Katherine Hamilton

Metaphor No More: A 15-Year Review of the Team Mental Model Construct

Representing one type of team cognition, team mental models (TMMs) are organized mental representations of the key elements within a team’s relevant environment that are shared across team members. Although introduced amid considerable confusion concerning their nature and potential usefulness, there has been a proliferation of published studies over the past decade that have directly measured TMMs using a variety of methodologies and research designs. Capturing these exciting research developments, the purpose of this review was to inventory what has been accomplished thus far and to offer an agenda for the next wave of research. Specifically, we overview the conceptual underpinnings of TMMs, discuss measurement issues, and review the empirical record related to the outcomes, antecedents, and longitudinal work on TMMs. We conclude by highlighting fruitful opportunities for further research.

Effects of conflict management strategies on perceptions of intragroup conflict.

Although conflict over ideas is thought to be beneficial to task performing groups, research documents a strong interrelation between idea-based task conflict and emotionally laden relationship conflict. The current study posits the manner in which task conflicts are managed influences subsequent relationship conflict. Two hundred seventy participants formed dyads to discuss a task issue. The conflict management strategy of one member was manipulated to examine the resulting level of relationship conflict perceived by the partner. The level of relationship conflict after the meeting was significantly impacted by the management style used during the meeting: competing produced the most, and collaborating the least, relationship conflict. Findings suggest competing to resolve task-based differences may be particularly harmful by generating relationship conflict.

Time for temporal team mental models: Expanding beyond “what” and “how” to incorporate “when”

Although often ignored, establishing and maintaining congruence in team members’ temporal perceptions are consequential tasks that deserve research attention. Integrating research on team cognition and temporality, this study operationalized the notion of a temporal team mental model (TMM) at two points in time using two measurement methods. Ninety eight three-person teams participated in a computerized team simulation designed to mimic emergency crisis management situations in a distributed team environment. The results showed that temporal TMMs measured via concept maps and pairwise ratings each positively contributed uniquely to team performance beyond traditionally measured taskwork and teamwork content domains. In addition, temporal TMMs assessed later in teams’ development exerted stronger effects on team performance than those assessed earlier. The results provide support for the continued examination of temporal TMM similarity in future research.

Using the Neocities 3.1 Simulation to Study and Measure Team Cognition

This paper provides a detailed explanation of the link between NeoCITIES, a crisis management simulation of emergency response teams, and team cognition. Descriptions of the NeoCITIES simulation structure, interface, and modifications are provided, along with its functionality in effectively studying team cognition. The paper focuses on three commonly examined constructs within the team cognition literature, namely, team situation awareness, team mental models, and information sharing.

What’s on “Their” Mind Evaluating Collaborative Systems Using Team Mental Models

In this paper we describe a methodology for utilizing team mental models as a basis for evaluating the usability and utility of collaborative systems. We present a case study of the evaluation of team mental models within the NeoCITIES 3.1 simulation. Paired comparison ratings, which are one of the most popularly used methods of team mental model assessment, were used to capture the team members’ taskwork-related knowledge, which was then compared to ratings from subject matter experts. These analyses were the driving force behind several design modifications in the NeoCITIES interface. We discuss the limitations of the method and its implications within the scope of collaborative systems evaluation and the field of HCI.

Skilled and Unaware: The Interactive Effects of Team Cognition, Team Metacognition, and Task Confidence on Team Performance

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the independent and joint effects of objective and subjective measures of situation awareness on team performance. We propose that objective and subjective measures are types of metacognitive experiences, with objective measures capturing actual situation knowledge and subjective measures capturing perceived situation knowledge. These metacognitive experiences are theorized to work in tandem with task confidence to predict performance. Data were collected from 72 three-person teams working in a simulated task environment of emergency management teams. Objective situation awareness, subjective situation awareness, and task confidence were each measured through the Situation Awareness Global Awareness Technique, the Mission Awareness Rating Scale, and collective efficacy, respectively. Results showed that all three metacognitive experiences interacted in predicting team performance, such that task confidence strengthened the relationship between actual situation knowledge and performance when the team’s perceived situation awareness was low and weakened the relationship when the team’s perceived situation awareness was high. These results suggest that it is always important to have the necessary actual situation knowledge to complete a task, but there are times in which aspects of awareness in relation to judgments or feelings should be low in order to create the necessary drive to regulate one’s behavior.

Mirror, Mirror: Guided Storytelling and Team Reflexivity’s Influence on Team Mental Models:

Because substantial evidence supports team mental model similarity as a positive predictor of team performance, it is important that we help team members to develop a shared understanding of relevant team content. The current study extended the list of team mental model antecedents to include guided storytelling as an effective team intervention. In the first known empirical investigation of planned story usage in teams, we broke new methodological ground by pioneering a team intervention to proactively harness the benefits of narrative. Results revealed that the combination of presenting important information in story format and giving members time to reflect upon their strategies had a positive effect on team mental model similarity. In addition, the positive indirect effect of storytelling on team performance via team mental model similarity was stronger when guided team reflexivity was present than absent. These findings provide encouraging evidence for the continued examination of storytelling and reflexivity in teams.

Once Upon a Time Behavioral, Affective and Cognitive Effects of Metaphorical Storytelling as a Training Intervention

In this paper, we describe the creation and experimentation of the effects of storytelling as a training intervention in an emergency response simulation. Specifically, the effects of analogous and metaphorical story-telling are examined within the context of the NeoCITIES 3.1 simulation. Stories were designed using the concepts of deep structure and surface structure. The results show no behavioral effects, but affective and cognitive effects were found. Finally, we address the design of the stories and their impact on experimental research.

The Differential Impact of Two Training Strategies on Team Performance

The current study examined how training type (cross-training vs. team coordination training) influenced team performance under varying environmental conditions (routine vs. non-routine). Three-hundred and fifty-two undergraduate students (176 dyads) from a large northeastern university participated in the study. Data were collected through the NeoCITIES 1.0 simulation, which is a simulated task environment of an emergency management team. Findings indicated that training type had a significant impact on performance, such that dyads receiving cross-training had higher levels of performance than those receiving team coordination training. However, this effect did not vary across environmental conditions.