Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.
Nonlinear Dynamics Psychol Life Sci. 2023 Oct;27(4):419-451.
Situation awareness (SA) is a mental state that is instrumental to performance of complex dynamic tasks. SA within teams is thought to be supported by favorable social conditions within the team. The present study was organized in two parts: (a) causal relationships among SA, group cohesion, and autonomic synchrony, the latter being a fundamentally nonlinear process, and (b) the combined impact of the three variables on performance in a dynamic decisions task. Experimental conditions assessed changes in task difficulty, group size, and method of obtaining SA measures. Participants were 136 undergraduates organized into 32 teams of three to five members engaged in two matches of a first-person shooter computer game. They completed self-report measures of cohesion and SA. Synchrony was determined through time series analysis of electrodermal responses using the driver-empath framework. ANOVA results showed that cohesion and SA improved over the two matches, and SA was better in smaller groups during the second match. Synchrony was stronger in larger groups. Granger regression indicated no causal or circular relationship between SA and cohesion. Synchrony had a small positive effect on cohesion during the first match. SA had a strong negative impact on synchrony early on and dissipated afterwards. The best performing teams during the first match were those that: were larger, were measured for SA without pausing the simulation, were less synchronized, showed more accurate SA, and reported stronger cohesion. The study opens new questions concerning the role of synchrony in volatile situations and the role of automated team members operating alongside humans.
情境意识（SA）是一种对复杂动态任务表现至关重要的心理状态。团队中的 SA 被认为是由团队内部有利的社会条件支持的。本研究分为两部分：（a）SA、群体凝聚力和自主同步之间的因果关系，自主同步是一个基本的非线性过程，以及（b）这三个变量对动态决策任务表现的综合影响。实验条件评估了任务难度、团队规模和获取 SA 测量方法的变化。参与者是 136 名本科生，他们被组织成 32 个三人或五人小组，参与了第一人称射击电脑游戏的两场比赛。他们完成了凝聚力和 SA 的自我报告测量。通过使用驾驶员-共情框架对皮肤电反应进行时间序列分析来确定同步性。方差分析结果表明，凝聚力和 SA 在两场比赛中都有所提高，在第二场比赛中小组成员较少时 SA 表现更好。同步性在较大的群体中更强。格兰杰回归表明 SA 和凝聚力之间没有因果或循环关系。在第一场比赛中，同步性对凝聚力有较小的积极影响。SA 对同步性的负面影响在早期较强，随后逐渐消散。在第一场比赛中表现最好的团队是那些：规模较大、在不暂停模拟的情况下测量 SA、同步性较低、SA 更准确、凝聚力更强的团队。该研究提出了关于同步性在不稳定情况下的作用以及自动化团队成员与人类一起运作的作用的新问题。
