Investigating the Diagnosticity of a Method For Measuring Teamwork Mental Models

摘要

A number of studies have documented relationships between mental model similarity among teammates and performance (e.g., Mathieu, Heffner, Goodwin, Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2000; Rentsch, Heffner & Duffy, 1994). On the basis of these findings, it has been argued that mental model measurement could be used to diagnose and remedy knowledge deficiencies in applied training settings. In order to be useful for this purpose, mental model measures need to do more than just predict performance. Trainers and trainees need mental model measures that diagnose specific underlying knowledge deficiencies that lead a particular individual to be dissimilar from their teammates or from some predefined expert model. However, few previous studies have demonstrated the diagnosticity of mental model measures. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the diagnosticity of metrics designed to parse the contribution of conciseness, consistency, and grouping strategy in predicting mental model similarity. The ultimate goal of the effort was to support a training-related application of the measure whereby the measure would be used to tailor feedback and other instructional strategies that address the specific knowledge deficiencies of individual team members. Specifically, we were interested in diagnosing the root causes of dissimilarity between an individual's teamwork mental model and (1) an expert model, as well as (2) dissimilarity within participant dyads.