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Numerous contemporary work teams encompass both virtuality, marked by geographically dispersed members relying on technology for communication, and fluidity, involving the rapid assembly of members with limited prior experience for immediate, time-sensitive tasks. Instances include global virtual teams, military command and control teams, and similar contexts in which rapidly assembled distributed teams are prevalent. However, research on fluid virtual teams remains scarce. In this article, we expound upon the concept of team fluidity, explain how fluid virtual contexts influence team dynamics, and explore the implications for effectively supporting fluid virtual teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We describe a methodology that provides a nonobtrusive means of detecting stress and related deficits through the assessment of spontaneous verbal output in ongoing communications. Background: In high-demand environments, operational personnel are exposed to an array of environmental, task, and interpersonal stressors that can negatively impact performance as well as jeopardize safety and well-being. In these settings, the requirement exists to assess cognitive and emotional state "at a distance" and without interfering with ongoing performance. Method: We describe a lexical approach to assessing stress effects from ongoing or spontaneous verbal output. This approach is examined in a spaceflight analog setting. Results: We assess stress effects in terms of five core dimensions and develop lexical indicators of these core stress dimensions and relevant sub-facets. We establish the proof-of-concept of this approach by presenting representative data from a spaceflight analog. Conclusion: This approach provides an unobtrusive means to evaluate ongoing task communications at the individual and team level in order to assess cognitive/emotional states such as workload, negative affect, attentional focus, anxiety, and team orientation. Application: There are many high-demand settings in which it is valuable to monitor the potential negative effects of stress on operational personnel. These environments include spaceflight, the military, aviation, law enforcement, and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of roles is ubiquitous in the social sciences, and a number of scholars have examined the operation of roles in task teams. In fact, this research has resulted in a seemingly unlimited number of roles that have been described as relevant to team performance. In this study, we attempt to integrate this research by deriving a model that describes three primary behavioral dimensions that underlie team role behavior: (a) dominance, (b) sociability, and (c) task orientation. Based on this model, we conduct a cluster analysis of the 154 team roles described in previous research. We identify 13 primary team role clusters, and discuss the implications of this approach for gaining further insight into team role structure and performance. We believe this is one step toward speaking a common language in discussing team roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teams are ubiquitous in the world of work, in part because they offer the capacity to reduce workload and enhance performance on complex tasks. One task that has taken on heightened importance in today's world is the investigative interview, an information- gathering interview that is conducted in settings as diverse as airport screening, military checkpoints, law enforcement, corporate fraud, and intelligence settings. The goal of this research is to examine how the "power" of teams may be exploited by utilizing pairs of interviewers to conduct the investigative interview. Results indicate that there are benefits and drawbacks to tandem interviews. Specifically, tandem interviewers achieved superior interview outcomes than individual interviewers, including a reduction in cognitive demand, more attention to issue-relevant information (i.e., story cues), and greater use of open-ended questions. On the other hand, the use of tandem interviewers resulted in lower interviewee rapport and tandem interviewers were no more adept at detecting deception than single interviewers. In brief, the results suggest a tangible benefit to the tandem interview. Implications for practice and application are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Team research increasingly incorporates emergent states as an integral mediator between team inputs and outcomes. In conjunction with this, we have witnessed a proliferation and fragmentation of measurement techniques associated with emergent states. This inconsistency in measurement presents a problem for scientists and practitioners alike. For the scientist, it becomes difficult to better understand the nature and effects of various emergent states on team processes and outcomes. For the practitioner, it complicates the process of measurement development, selection, and implementation. To address these issues, we review the literature on emergent states focusing on various measurement strategies, to better unpack best practices. In so doing, we highlight existing research that suggests innovative solutions to the conceptual, methodological, and logistical problems that consistently plague emergent state research. Our aim is to enhance emergent state theory by applying psychometric principles to the measurement techniques associated with them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research constitutes an initial empirical examination of how the introduction of a third party impacts interviewee rapport in an investigative interview setting. Whereas some have argued that employing two interviewers may be beneficial in an investigative interview setting, others have speculated that adding a "third person in the communications loop" (U.S. Department of the Army, 2006) during an investigative interview may negatively impact the establishment of rapport. This research draws on group dynamics research and adopts a content-analytic approach using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007) to examine interviewee rapport in real-world investigative interviews. The comparison of dyadic interviews in which one interviewer was present and triadic interviews in which two interviewers were present revealed no significant reduction in interviewee rapport. These findings suggest that the anecdotal concern that "three is a crowd" and that the addition of a third party may result in decreased rapport may be unfounded. Further research on the group dynamics of the investigative interview is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term teamwork has graced countless motivational posters and office walls. However, although teamwork is often easy to observe, it is somewhat more difficult to describe and yet more difficult to produce. At a broad level, teamwork is the process through which team members collaborate to achieve task goals. Teamwork refers to the activities through which team inputs translate into team outputs such as team effectiveness and satisfaction. In this article, we describe foundational research underlying current research on teamwork. We examine the evolution of team process models and outline primary teamwork dimensions. We discuss selection, training, and design approaches to enhancing teamwork, and note current applications of teamwork research in real-world settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study addresses a practical homeland security issue of considerable current concern: In a situation in which the opportunity exists to question or interview concurrently two or more suspects, how does one determine truth or deception at a social level? Background: Recent world events have led to an increased emphasis on the capacity to detect deception, especially in military, security, and law enforcement settings. In many screening or checkpoint situations, the opportunity exists to question two or more suspects regarding their involvement in some activity, yet investigators know very little regarding characteristics of speech or behavior that are exhibited between two suspects that indicate truth or deception. Method: We conducted an empirical study in which pairs of police officers and firefighters who had served together as partners took part. In the “truth” conditions, each dyad described a recent event in which they had actually taken part, and in the “deceptive” conditions, each dyad fabricated a story that did not take place. We expected that the officers in the truth-telling dyads would be able to draw on shared or transactive memory of the actual event they had participated in and would describe this event in a more interactive manner than would those in deceptive dyads. Results: Results indicated greater evidence of synchrony of behavior as well as more interactive behaviors, such as mutual gaze and speech transitions, in truthful dyads than in deceptive dyads. Conclusion: This research provides a unique perspective on detecting deception in a social context, and the results have both theoretical and practical value. Application: These results can inform training programs and refine strategies used by screeners in field settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study addresses a practical homeland security issue of considerable current concern: In a situation in which the opportunity exists to question or interview concurrently two or more suspects, how does one determine truth or deception at a social level?Background: Recent world events have led to an increased emphasis on the capacity to detect deception, especially in military, security, and law enforcement settings. In many screening or checkpoint situations, the opportunity exists to question two or more suspects regarding their involvement in some activity, yet investigators know very little regarding characteristics of speech or behavior that are exhibited between two suspects that indicate truth or deception.Method: We conducted an empirical study in which pairs of police officers and firefighters who had served together as partners took part. In the "truth" conditions, each dyad described a recent event in which they had actually taken part, and in the "deceptive" conditions, each dyad fabricated a story that did not take place. We expected that the officers in the truth-telling dyads would be able to draw on shared or transactive memory of the actual event they had participated in and would describe this event in a more interactive manner than would those in deceptive dyads.Results: Results indicated greater evidence of synchrony of behavior as well as more interactive behaviors, such as mutual gaze and speech transitions, in truthful dyads than in deceptive dyads.Conclusion: This research provides a unique perspective on detecting deception in a social context, and the results have both theoretical and practical value.Application: These results can inform training programs and refine strategies used by screeners in field settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]