Compatibility in Team Cognition and Individuals' Decisions in Team Performance

Abstract

Recent conceptualizations of team cognition have suggested that the compatibility of team member’s mental representations is a key contributor to team functioning. However, efforts to develop this construct have been limited by imprecise definition. The present work thus proposes a framework and process-oriented theory for describing compatibility in team cognition and its relationship with team performance by integrating existing work from team cognition, goal representation, and goal pursuit. These contributions were instantiated in an agent-based model used to conduct two virtual studies which explored how compatible mental representations engendered patterns of individuals’ action choices and patterns of team goal progress resulting in better or worse team performance outcomes. Study 1 indicates team members with compatible mental representations tend to perform better on average but with more variability even without explicit coordination. Study 2 indicates explicit coordination does not impact performance regardless of compatibility or ability to correctly anticipate teammates’ behavior.