Evaluating a team building intervention in a youth exercise setting.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the mechanisms in an established team building (TB) activity intervention and cohesion, its proposed outcome as well as conduct a process evaluation of the intervention in a youth exercise setting. Participants (N = 100, 13–17 years) were members of school-based exercise clubs randomly assigned to either a TB or control condition. In the TB condition, trained leaders implemented an established TB protocol (Carron & Spink, 1993). Results revealed a positive association between the specified mechanisms in the TB intervention and the proposed outcome of task cohesion. The evaluation of the intervention also revealed that the TB components were implemented as prescribed, and the intervention appeared to be appropriate for a youth setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis.

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of task success to task liking and satisfaction.

4 laboratory experiments are reported which examine the relationship between degree of task success and degree of liking for and satisfaction with the task. A number of different tasks, measures, and situations were used. In all cases there was clear evidence for a significant (positive) linear relationship between success and measures of liking and satisfaction. The major reasons given for liking a task involved attributes of the individual's performance (e.g., improvement); reasons given for not liking a task most often involved attributes other than individual performance (e.g., the monotony of the task). (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Co-leader similarity and group climate in group interventions: Testing the co-leadership, team cognition-team diversity model.

This study tested a coleadership, team cognition-team diversity model of coleader similarity and dissimilarity and its effect on group processes. This model suggests that group coleaders will be most effective when coleaders share cognitions about the group but are dissimilar in terms of their skill sets and behavior within the group. Specifically, the current study examined whether coleader dissimilarity in behavior was related to the group climate in eight coled intergroup dialogue groups at a large university. Results gave partial support to the coleader, team cognition-team diversity model, as coleader dissimilarity was related to increased overall engagement and conflict within the group. Coleader dissimilarity was related to decreasing conflict and increasing avoiding, suggesting that the relationship between coleader similarity and group processes is more complex than implied by the coleadership, team cognition-team diversity model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of work-group structure and certain task variables on group performance.

This investigation explored how team performance varies as a function of information processing demands and how the information-handling capacity of teams depends upon the requirements for internal transmission of information imposed by a communication structure. 3-man groups performed a simple "team" task under 2 different work structures, differing in the extent to which they required the transmission of information. "… the most difficult structure was that in which a larger proportion of information had to be relayed… from several different sources… . Errors for both structure conditions significantly increased when the rate of change of instrument readings increased." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group performance as function of task difficulty and the group's awareness of member satisfaction.

Investigated the hypothesis that group effectiveness increases with increased member awareness of group satisfaction, and that this effect is greater for difficult than for easy tasks. 5-person groups attempted 3 tasks differing in difficulty, under 3 conditions of satisfaction feedback: no feedback, overt feedback, and covert feedback. In the overt condition, Ss publicly indicated their satisfaction with the problem-solving process, whereas in the covert condition their satisfaction was indicated anonymously. The results supported the hypothesis. It was suggested that valid communication of satisfaction leads to more complete use of members' contributions, and hence improves performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of music, television, and a combination entertainment system on distraction, exercise adherence, and physical output in adults.

A 14-wk field study tested the effects of various exercise entertainment modalities on distraction, adherence, and physical outputs in 50 male and female adults (aged 22–56 yrs). While no statistically significant differences were found between groups on the distraction measures, the combined music and personal television (with 62 changeable channels) group had significantly lower dropout than either music alone, television (with 4 nonchangeable channels) alone, or a control condition, as well as a trend toward higher attendance. Also, the combined entertainment group participants completed significantly longer exercise sessions than either the control or television-only groups, and demonstrated cardiorespiratory improvements significantly greater than all other groups. Limitations, including the need for improved measurement instrumentation for exercise-related cognitive activity, are given. Practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Team reflexivity, development of shared task representations, and the use of distributed information in group decision making.

Decision-making groups often exchange and integrate distributed information to a lesser extent than is desirable for high-quality decisions. One important reason for this lies in group members’ understanding of the decision task—their task representations—specifically the extent to which they understand the importance of exchange and integration of information. The authors hypothesized that a group’s development of a (shared) understanding of the information elaboration requirements of their task is influenced by collective reflection on the task. When not all group members initially realize the importance of information elaboration, team reflexivity increases the degree to which the group understands the importance of information elaboration. In an experiment, the authors showed that team reflection fostered the development of task representations emphasizing information elaboration and subsequent information elaboration and decision quality. When all members initially already held representations emphasizing information elaboration, team reflection promoted elaboration and performance to a lesser degree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A contingency model of conflict and team effectiveness.

The authors develop and test theoretical extensions of the relationships of task conflict, relationship conflict, and 2 dimensions of team effectiveness (performance and team-member satisfaction) among 2 samples of work teams in Taiwan and Indonesia. Findings show that relationship conflict moderates the task conflict–team performance relationship. Specifically, the relationship is curvilinear in the shape of an inverted U when relationship conflict is low, but the relationship is linear and negative when relationship conflict is high. The results for team-member satisfaction are more equivocal, but the findings provide some evidence that relationship conflict exacerbates the negative relationship between task conflict and team-member satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of task complexity and time pressure upon team productivity.

Using 72 college students as Ss, team productivity was studied under a contract with the Office of Naval Research. 24 3-man teams performed assembly tasks under 2 levels of difficulty and 3 levels of time pressure. The task should be complex enough to reduce boredom but not exceed a moderate acceleration of time pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of justice in team member satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team.

This study examined the effects of team decision accuracy, team member decision influence, leader consideration behaviors, and justice perceptions on staff members' satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team in hierarchical decision-making teams. The authors proposed that staff members' justice perceptions would mediate the relationship between (a) team decision accuracy, (b) the amount of influence a staff member has in the team leader's decision, and (c) the leader's consideration behaviors and staff attachment to the team and satisfaction with the leader. The results of an experiment involving 128 participants in a total of 64 teams, who made recommendations to a confederate acting as the team leader, generally support the proposed model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Becoming team players: Team members' mastery of teamwork knowledge as a predictor of team task proficiency and observed teamwork effectiveness.

The authors explored the idea that teams consisting of members who, on average, demonstrate greater mastery of relevant teamwork knowledge will demonstrate greater task proficiency and observed teamwork effectiveness. In particular, the authors posited that team members' mastery of designated teamwork knowledge predicts better team task proficiency and higher observer ratings of effective teamwork, even while controlling for team task proficiency. The authors investigated these hypotheses by developing a structural model and testing it with field data from 92 teams (1,158 team members) in a United States Air Force officer development program focusing on a transportable set of teamwork competencies. The authors obtained proficiency scores on 3 different types of team tasks as well as ratings of effective teamwork from observers. The empirical model supported the authors' hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task instructions and brief breaks on brainstorming.

Experiment 1 examined the effects of additional brainstorming rules for groups and looked at whether the presence of a facilitator who actively enforced the rules of brainstorming was beneficial. Experiments 2 and 3 examined whether the additional rules and brief breaks were beneficial to individual brainwriters and electronic brainstormers working alone. Clear benefits of the additional rules were found under a variety of conditions. The presence of a facilitator to enforce the rules enhanced the efficiency of idea generation (number of words used to express ideas) but not the number of ideas generated. There appears to be a small benefit to taking breaks in brainwriting sessions, but the benefit of breaks is reduced or eliminated in electronic brainstorming sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task interdependence on the relationship between helping behavior and group performance.

The authors examine whether task interdependence moderates the relationship between the helping form of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and group performance. In a laboratory study, 62 groups with 3 members each completed a card-sequencing activity in which the level of task interdependence among group members was manipulated. Independent evaluators assessed helping by viewing videotapes of the groups' interactions during the sequencing activities. Performance was measured as a combined function of group speed and accuracy. Two prior field studies reported contradictory results regarding the impact of helping on group performance. Results from this study suggest that task interdependence may explain these results, and that the relationship between helping and group performance depends on the level of task interdependence required of group members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.

The authors summarize 35 years of empirical research on goal-setting theory. They describe the core findings of the theory, the mechanisms by which goals operate, moderators of goal effects, the relation of goals and satisfaction, and the role of goals as mediators of incentives. The external validity and practical significance of goal-setting theory are explained, and new directions in goal-setting research are discussed. The relationships of goal setting to other theories are described as are the theory's limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conformity to group pressure in relation to the value of the task material.

This study was an investigation of the effect of varying the value content of a perceptual task under conditions of group pressure, when factual anchorage was held constant. 20 Ss, each with both high and low scores on the Allport-Vernon Study of Values, were exposed to a group pressure situation in which task materials were of both high and low values for each S. The results showed that group pressure is resisted when highly valued material (particularly economic) is utilized, and that, in general, susceptibility to influence increases with pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of individually prominent behavior upon group effectiveness and member satisfaction.

"An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that in unstructured situations, behavior oriented toward individual prominence in the group is negatively correlated with group performance and positively correlated with member satisfaction… . Twenty-two four-person groups were observed… . Groups were required to solve five problems… . After completion of the problem, Ss rated their satisfaction with the group, the degree to which group members cooperated, and group performance… . It was concluded that in the undifferentiated situation behavior oriented toward individual prominence interferences with effective group action." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adherence to exercise prescriptions: Effects of prescribing moderate versus higher levels of intensity and frequency.

Sedentary adults (N = 379) were randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 design to walk 30 min per day at a frequency of either 3-4 or 5-7 days per week, at an intensity of either 45%-55% or 65%-75% of maximum heart rate reserve. Analyses of exercise accumulated over 6 months showed greater amounts completed in the higher frequency (p = .0001) and moderate intensity (p = .021) conditions. Analyses of percentage of prescribed exercise completed showed greater adherence in the moderate intensity (p = .02) condition. Prescribing a higher frequency increased the accumulation of exercise without a decline in adherence, whereas prescribing a higher intensity decreased adherence and resulted in the completion of less exercise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader group prototypicality and job satisfaction: The moderating role of job stress and team identification.

The authors examined the relationship between leader group prototypicality (the extent to which a leader is representative of the collective identity) and job satisfaction as an indicator of leadership effectiveness. Leader group prototypicality was expected to interact with job stress and team identification, such that leader group protototypicality is more strongly related to job satisfaction for followers with higher job stress and team identification. Two cross-sectional surveys (N = 329 and N = 89) conducted with the employees of 4 Italian organizations provided support for this hypothesis. The authors discuss how these findings extend our understanding of leadership effectiveness within the social identity model of leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis.

Updating and extending the work of O'Leary-Kelly, Martocchio, and Frink (1994), with this meta-analysis on goal setting and group performance we show that specific difficult goals yield considerably higher group performance compared with nonspecific goals (d = 0.80 ± 0.35, k = 23 effect sizes). Moderately difficult and easy goals were also associated with performance benefits relative to nonspecific goals, but these effects were smaller. The overall effect size for all group goals was d = 0.56 ± 0.19 (k = 49). Unexpectedly, task interdependence, task complexity, and participation did not moderate the effect of group goals. Our inventory of multilevel goals in interdependent groups indicated that the effect of individual goals in groups on group performance was contingent upon the focus of the goal: “Egocentric” individual goals, aimed at maximizing individual performance, yielded a particularly negative group-performance effect (d = –1.75 ± 0.60, k = 6), whereas “groupcentric” goals, aimed at maximizing the individual contribution to the group's performance, showed a positive effect (d = 1.20 ± 1.03, k = 4). These findings demonstrate that group goals have a robust effect on group performance. Individual goals can also promote group performance but should be used with caution in interdependent groups. Future research might explore the role of multilevel goals for group performance in more detail. The striking lack of recent field studies in organizational settings that emerged from our brief review of trends in group goal-setting research should be taken into account when designing future studies in this domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)