Reinforcement determinants of team proficiency

Abstract The proficiency of working teams having well-defined structures and member assignments can be considered as a function of the occurrence of reinforcement for the group as a whole following each team response. Findings from a series of seven studies suggest that increments and decrements in team performance are predictable from a knowledge of reinforcement contingencies and team structures and may be attributed to the differential effects of group reinforcement on individual team members. Both “series” teams, requiring specified contributions from all members, and “parallel” teams, those containing redundant members, were studied. The effects of characteristic entering performance, supplementary feedback during team training and the simulation of team conditions during the training of individuals also was investigated. Some implications of the research and the underlying model are identified with respect to the broader context of social behavior.

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