The relationship of task adaptive behavior (TAB) to performance was studied in 31 computer supported groups using a simulated air traffic control task. Each person could access information on specific plane parameters. Based on messages from two specialists, the commanders assigned threat levels to planes that moved in the airspace. Groups worked on two different days. Shifts 1 to 3 (Day 1) and 4 to 6 (Day 2) were compared. Based on a hierarchical task analysis, measures of TAB were developed to assess conformity to specific task requirements beyond general process variables. As hypothesized, TAB predicted performance better than general process variables. The hypothesis that basic task mastery was a better predictor of performance on Day 1 and more sophisticated TAB on Day 2 was supported for two of the three TAB measures. Results underscore the fruitfulness of assessing behaviors specifically adapted to task requirements, and of observations over longer periods of time.
Anderson, J. R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2.
Annett, J. , & Duncan, K. D. (1967). Task analysis and training design. Occupational Psychology, 41, 211-221.
3.
Argote, L. (1989). Agreement about norms and work-unit effectiveness: Evidence from the field. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 131-140.
4.
Arrow, H. , Berdahl, J. L., Bouas, K. S, Craig, K. M., Cummings, A., Lebie, L., McGrath, J. E., O’Connor, K. M., Rhoades, J. A., & Schlosser, A. (1995). Time, technology and groups: An integration. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 4, 1-5.
5.
Cannon-Bowers, J. A. , Salas, E., & Converse, S. (1993). Shared mental models in expert team decision making. In N. J. Castellan (Ed.), Individual and group decision making (pp. 221-246). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
6.
Carter, S. M. , & West, M. A. (1998). Reflexivity, effectiveness, and mental health in BBC-TV production teams. Small Group Research, 29, 583-601.
7.
Chmiel, N. , & Wall, T. (1994). Fault prevention, job design, and the adaptive control of advance manufacturing technology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 43, 455-473.
8.
Cohen, J. , & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
9.
Conley, S. , & Briant, D. (1991). Coordination strategies of crew management. Paper presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, Columbus, Ohio, 29 April-2 May.
10.
Cummings, A. , Schlosser, A., & Arrow, H. (1995). Developing complex group products: Idea combination in computer-mediated and face-to-face groups. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 4, 1-23.
11.
Ericsson, K. A. , & Lehmann, A. C. (1996). Expert and exceptional performance: Evidence of maximal adaptation to task constraints. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 273-305.
12.
Frese, M. , & Zapf, D. (1994). Action as the core of work psychology: A German approach. In H. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette, & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol.4, 2nd ed., pp. 271-340). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
13.
Futoran, G. C. , Kelly, J. R., & McGrath, J. E. (1989). TEMPO: A time-based system for analysis of group interaction processes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 211-232.
14.
Gersick, C. J. G. (1988) Time and transition in work teams: Toward a new model of group development. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 9-41.
15.
Gersick, C. J. , & Hackman, J. R. (1990). Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47, 65-97.
16.
Hacker, W. (1995). Arbeitstätigkeitsanalyse: Analyse und Bewertung psychischer Arbeitsanforderungen [Analysis of work activity: Analysis and assessment of psychological requirements]. Heidelberg: Asanger.
17.
Hacker, W. (1996) Diagnose von Expertenwissen. Von Abzapf- (broaching-) zu Aufbau- (Re-construction-) Konzepten [Diagnosis of expertise]. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
18.
Hackman, R. J. , Brousseau, K. R., & Weiss, J. A. (1976). The interaction of task design and group performance strategies in determining group effectiveness. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 350-365.
19.
Hackman, R. J. , & Morris, C. G. (1975). Group tasks, group interaction process, and group performance effectiveness: A review and proposed integration. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 8, pp. 47-97). New York: Academic Press.
20.
Harvey, R. J. (1991). Job analysis. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 71-163). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
21.
Hirokawa, R. Y. , & Scheerhorn, D. R. (1996). Communication in faulty group decision-making. In R. Y. Hirokawa & M. S. Poole (Eds.), Communication and group decision-making. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
Hollenbeck, I. R., Sego, D. J., Ilgen, D. R., & Major, D. A. (1991). Team interactive exercise for teams incorporating distributed expertise (TIDE2): Program and paradigm for team research (Tech. Rep. No. 91(1). Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
23.
Hollenbeck, I. R. , Ilgen, D. R., Lepine, J. A., Colquitt, J. A., & Heldhund, J. (1998). Extending the multilevel theory of team decision making: Effects of feedback and experience in hierarchical teams. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 269-282.
24.
Hollingshead, A. B. , McGrath, J. E., & O’Connor, K. M. (1993). Group task performance and communication technology. A longitudinal study of computer-mediated versus face-to-face work groups. Small Group Research, 24, 307-333.
25.
Ilgen, D. R. , Major, D. A., Hollenbeck, I. R., & Sego, D. J. (1993) Team research in the 1990s. In M. M. Chemers & R. Ayman (Eds.), Leadership theory and research. Perspectives and Directions (pp. 245-270). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
26.
Kanfer, R. , & Ackerman, P. L. (1989). Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 657-690.
27.
Kanki, B. G. , & Foushee, H. C. (1989). Communication as group process mediator of aircrew performance. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, 4, 402-410.
28.
Kanki, B. G. , & Palmer, M. T. (1993). Communication and crew resource management. In E. L. Wiener, B. G. Kanki, & R. L. Helmreich (Eds.), Cockpit resource management (pp. 99-135). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
29.
Kiesler. S. , & Sproull, L. (1992). Group decision making and communication technology. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 52, 96-123.
30.
Klimowski, R. , & Mohammed, S. (1994). Team mental model: Construct or metaphor?Journal of Management, 20, 403-437.
31.
Liang, D. W. , Moreland, R., & Argote, L. (1995). Group versus individual training and group performance: The mediating role of transactive memory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 384-393.
32.
McGrath, J. , & Hollingshead, A. (1994). Groups interacting with technology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
33.
McGrath, J. E. (1991). Time, interaction, and performance (TIP). A theory of groups. Small Group Research, 22, 147-174.
34.
McGrath, J. E. (1997). Small group research, that once and future field: An interpretation of the past with an eye to the future. Group Dynamics, 1, 7-27.
35.
McGrath, J. E. , & O’Connor, K. M. (1996). Temporal issues in work groups. In M. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology (pp. 25-53). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
36.
Moreland, R.L. , Argote, L., & Krishnan, R. (1996). Socially shared cognition at work. Transactive memory and group performance. In J. L. Nye & A. M. Brower (Eds.), What’s social about social cognition? Research on socially shared cognition in small groups (pp. 57-84). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
Orasanu, J. M. , & Salas, E. (1993). Team decision making in complex environments. In G. A. Klein, J. Orasanu, R. Calderwood, & C. E. Zsambok (Eds.), Decision making in action: Models and methods (pp. 327-345). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
38.
Reimer, T. (1998). Does blaming the self for inferior group performance enhance perspective thinking and group achievement? Paper presented at the 1st International German Conference on Group Research, Berlin.
39.
Salas, E. , Cannon-Bowers, J. A., & Blickensderfer, E. L. (1997). Enhancing reciprocity between training theory and training practice: Principles, guidelines, and specifications. In J. K. Ford, S. W. J. Kozlowski, K. Kraiger, E. Salas, & M. S. Teachout (Eds.), Improving training effectiveness in work organizations (pp. 291-322). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
40.
Shaw, M. E. (1963) Scaling group tasks. A method for dimensional analysis (Tech. Rep. No. 1) Office of Naval Research, July.
41.
Shepherd, A. (1989). Analysis and training in information technology tasks. In D. Diaper (Ed.), Task analysis for human-computer interaction (pp. 15-55). Chichester, UK: Horwood.
42.
Shure, G. H. , Rogers, M. S., Larsen, I. M., & Tassone, J. (1962). Group planning and task effectiveness. Sociometry25, 263-282.
43.
Smith, E. M. , Ford, J. K., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (1997). Building adaptive expertise: Implications for training design strategies. In M. A. Quiñones & A. Ehrenstein (Eds.), Training for a rapidly changing workplace (pp. 89-118). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
44.
Stasser, G. & Titus, W. (1985). Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: Biased information sampling during group discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1467-1478.
45.
Steiner, I. D. (1986). Paradigms and groups. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol.19, pp. 251-289). New York: Academic Press.
46.
Strauss, S. G. , & McGrath, J. E. (1994). Does the medium matter? The interaction of task type and technology on group performance and member reactions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 87-97.
47.
Tschan, F. (1995). Communication enhances small group performance if it conforms to task requirements: The concept of ideal communication cycles. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17, 371-393.
48.
Tschan, F. (1998). Aufgabenbezogene Kommunikation und Produktivität in Kleingruppen. Zur Bedeutung von zieladäquaten Orientierungs-, Planungs und Evaluationsprozessen in der Regulation von Gruppenhandlungen [Task related communication and productivity in small groups]. Universität Bern: Habilitationsschrift.
49.
Tschan, F. , & von Cranach, M. (1996). Group task structure, processes and outcome. In M. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology (pp. 95-123). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
50.
Volpe, C.E. , Cannon-Bowers, J.A., Salas, E., & Spector, P. (1996). The impact of cross-training on team functioning: An empirical investigation. Electronic Selection Systems, 38, 87-100.
51.
von Cranach, M. (1996). Towards a theory of the acting group. In E. Witte & J. Davis (Eds.), Understanding group behavior: Vol.2. Small group processes and interpersonal relations. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
52.
Wegner, D. M. (1987). Transactive memory: A contemporary analysis of the group mind. In B. Mullen & G. Goethals (Eds.), Theories of group behavior (pp. 185-208). New York: Springer.
53.
Weingart, L. (1992). Impact of group goals, task component complexity, effort, and planning on group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 682-693.
54.
Weingart, L. R. (1997). How did they do that? The ways and means of studying group process. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 189-239.
55.
Weldon, E. , Jehn, K. A., & Pradhan, P. (1991). Processes that mediate the relationship between a group goal and improved group performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 555-569.
56.
West, M. (1996). Reflexivity and work group effectiveness: A conceptual integration. In M. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology (pp. 555-579). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
57.
Wittenbaum, G. & Stasser, G. (1996). Management information in small groups. In J. Nye & A. Brower (Eds.), What’s social about social cognition? (pp. 2-29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
