Influence of Personal, Social, and System Factors on Team Problem Solving

摘要

This final report summarizes five experiments conducted to find ways of improving the process and outcome of team problem solving. Our basic approach has tested strategies for increasing the extent of involvement among individuals whose levels of participation is typically low. A computer-controlled message system was developed and utilized to investigate communication processes in four-person problem-solving teams. Several variables that bias the extent of an individual's verbal participation on group tasks were identified. Equitable (or democratic) participation in task-centered work teams is affected by dispositional factors, such as communication apprehension or shyness, by social-situational factors, such as gender (sexual) composition of teams, and by leadership roles. Intervention in the communication process during team problem-solving activities was achieved by use of: computer-mediated turn-taking algorithms, computer displays of feedback (informational prompts) regarding each member's on-going amount of participation, and assessment of leadership roles. Outcome measures included quality of team decisions, extent of individual verbal participation, social-emotional reactions, and group dynamics. This exploratory research reveals the promise of an experimental approach to studying computer-mediated message systems in problem-focused work teams.