Building the Infrastructure: The Effects of Role Identification Behaviors on Team Cognition Development and Performance

Matthew J. Pearsall, University of Maryland
Aleksander P. J. Ellis, University of Arizona
Bradford S. Bell, Cornell University

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Suggested Citation 

Pearsall, M. J., Ellis, A. P. J. & Bell, B. S. (2010). Building the infrastructure: The effects of role identification behaviors on team cognition development and performance [Electronic version]. Retrieved [insert date], from Cornell University, ILR School site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/409/

Required Publisher Statement

Copyright held by the American Psychological Association. Final version published as:  Pearsall, M. J., Ellis, A. P. J. & Bell, B. S. (2010). Building the infrastructure: The effects of role identification behaviors on team cognition development and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 192-200.

This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. Journal of Applied Psychology is available online at: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/apl/index.aspx.

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to extend theory and research regarding the emergence of mental models and transactive memory in teams. Utilizing Kozlowski et al.’s (1999) model of team compilation, we examine the effect of role identification behaviors and argue that such behaviors represent the initial building blocks of team cognition during the role compilation phase of team development. We then hypothesized that team mental models and transactive memory would convey the effects of these behaviors onto team performance in the team compilation phase of development. Results from 60 teams working on a command and control simulation supported our hypotheses.