Team Mental Model

The notion of a team mental model was introduced in 1990 to account for the fluid, implicit coordination frequently observed in effective teams and to [Page 1579]advance the understanding of how teams function in complex, dynamic, and ambiguous situations. For example, the seemingly effortless execution of a blind pass in basketball illustrates a well-known situation in which team members correctly predict the positioning and readiness of other team members on the court. In contrast, postincident investigations of many catastrophic aviation incidents reveal breakdowns in teamwork, as well as ambiguity with respect to who is responsible for specific tasks. Therefore, both team successes and failures speak to the necessity of being “on the same page” with respect to what to do, with whom, and how.

Team mental ...