Sharon L. Code

Team Mental Models: Techniques, Methods, and Analytic Approaches

Effective team functioning requires the existence of a shared or team mental model among members of a team. However, the best method for measuring team mental models is unclear. Methods reported vary in terms of how mental model content is elicited and analyzed or represented. We review the strengths and weaknesses of various methods that have been used to elicit, represent, and analyze individual and team mental models and provide recommendations for method selection and development. We describe the nature of mental models and review techniques that have been used to elicit and represent them. We focus on a case study on selecting a method to examine team mental models in industry. The processes involved in the selection and development of an appropriate method for eliciting, representing, and analyzing team mental models are described. The criteria for method selection were (a) applicability to the problem under investigation; (b) practical considerations---suitability for collecting data from the targeted research sample; and (c) theoretical rationale---the assumption that associative networks in memory are a basis for the development of mental models. We provide an evaluation of the method matched to the research problem and make recommendations for future research. The practical applications of this research include the provision of a technique for analyzing team mental models in organizations, the development of methods and processes for eliciting a mental model from research participants in their normal work environment, and a survey of available methodologies for mental model research.

Analyzing shared and team mental models

Abstract In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the notion of shared cognition. Subsequent to this interest, two similar yet distinct concepts have emerged: ‘shared mental models’ and ‘team mental models’. A ‘shared mental model’ can be described as the extent to which a dyad of individuals possesses a similar cognitive representation of some situation or phenomenon. The notion of ‘team mental model’, is distinct from that of a shared mental model in that it refers to shared cognition in a team as a collectivity, not shared cognition among dyads of individuals, which the alternative phrase ‘shared mental models’ does allow. While a number of techniques have been developed to measure mental model similarity dyadically, appropriate measures of team mental models have eluded researchers. This issue presents a problem for the evolution of the team mental model concept in psychology and the establishment of its validity, for example, as a predictor of team performance. The primary aim of the current paper was to describe the application of randomization tests as a new method for measuring mental model similarity at the team level, that is the measurement of team mental models. A secondary aim was to apply this technique to examine team mental models (of team functioning) in shop floor teams and shared mental models (of team functioning) among shop floor team members, teamwork ‘experts’ and managers. The advantages and disadvantages of the technique are discussed. Relevance to industry The present project aims to provide authors with a roadmap on how to answer team mental models. The team mental model construct has extreme usefulness to individuals and researchers engaged in attempts to make teams work; to help individuals adapt to teamworking, and to make teams more efficient and productive. Teamwork has expanded exponentially in the last 10–15 years with most workers involved in some form of teamwork. Thus, the present paper is timely in its practical value of helping those in industry and organizations, to understand the dynamics of teamwork, and in particular, the ‘how to’ of measuring team mental models.

Supporting Employee Participation: Attitudes and Perceptions in Trainees, Employees and Teams

Research in employee participation has tended to focus on participation outcomes rather than the process of successful implementation, and to evaluate program success in terms of (a) employee attitudes (e.g. satisfaction) post-participation and (b) productivity or effectiveness. We argue that such approaches ignore the process component of successful implementation such as the long-term maintenance of interest in and support for participation among employees. A second problem is that although some research confronts this issue, the factors that moderate attitudes and perceptions of participation have not been examined in detail, nor acknowledged in current models of participation. Two projects are reported. The first examined the effect of seniority and training experience on personal support for participation, perceptions of program reputation and outcomes, and perceived organizational support for participation. Shop floor workers reported less personal support for employee participation and perceived less organizational support for participation than did special function workers and managers. Trainees held more positive perceptions of program outcomes, and they also reported more personal support for employee participation than did trained or untrained employees (regardless of seniority), although they perceived less organizational support for participation. The second study explored goal commitment in employee participation teams on the shop floor. Both prior team experience and task type predicted (perceived) status and influence within the team, which in turn predicted goal commitment. Teamwork training predicted perceived value of external relations, which in turn predicted goal commitment. Results are discussed in terms of implications for successful program implementation.

Analyzing Shared Mental Models

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the notion of shared cognition and team mental models (Klimoski & Mohammed, 1994). While a number of techniques have been developed to measure mental model similarity dyadically, team mental model measurement has eluded researchers. This presents a problem for the evolution of the team mental model concept in psychology and the establishment of its validity, for example, as a predictor of team performance. The primary aim of this paper is to describe the application of randomization tests as a new method for measuring mental model similarity at the team-level, that is the measurement of team mental models.