The Effects of Team Environment on Attentional Resource Allocation and Cognitive Workload

Despite the frequency with which individuals perform in team environments as well as the robust relationship between attentional resource allocation/cognitive workload and performance, the impact of team environment on attentional resource allocation and cognitive workload has only recently begun to be investigated. To address this shortcoming, we used a dual-task paradigm (concurrent auditory oddball discrimination and cognitive-motor tasks) and recorded phenomenological reports (National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]-Task Load Index) to assess attentional resource allocation and cognitive workload, respectively, while participants engaged in neutral, adaptive, and maladaptive team environments. We observed that individuals performing the cognitive-motor task in maladaptive team environments exhibited poorer oddball performance relative to neutral (p = .004, d = 0.836) and adaptive (p = .01, d = 0.754) team environments. Furthermore, participants reported higher Task Load Index scores in maladaptive team environments relative to neutral (p = .007, d = 1.229) and adaptive (p = .002, d = 1.590) team environments. Thus, individuals engaging in adaptive and neutral team environments allocated their attentional resources much more efficiently and experienced considerably less cognitive workload relative to maladaptive team environments. Additionally, individuals performing in adaptive team environments exhibited substantially better cognitive-motor task performance relative to neutral (p = .009, d = 0.931) and maladaptive (p = .017, d = 1.005) team environments. These results illustrate the importance of (1) avoiding maladaptive team environments so as to prevent team members from inefficiently allocating their attentional resources and experiencing excessive levels of cognitive workload and (2) generating adaptive team environments to enhance task performance.