Doctoral Dissertaton Research: The Effect of Team Composition on Team Performance

在组织中，越来越多地使用团队来完成重要的工作，这既有积极的影响，也有消极的影响。其中一个问题就是所谓的“坏苹果”效应，例如，一个非常不讨人喜欢的团队成员会对团队及其绩效产生负面影响。本研究旨在更好地理解(1)负面影响发生的过程和(2)哪些因素可能将负面影响最小化。根据情感事件理论、社会压力源研究和其他理论框架，研究者假设一个坏苹果会影响团队成员的情感反应，导致他们做出防御行为。这些行为结合在一起，破坏了沟通和凝聚力等团队过程，最终导致团队表现不佳。此外，团队成员之间的相互依赖程度会缓和坏苹果对团队情感反应的影响。pi设计了一项实验室研究来测试这些假设，该研究将在爱荷华大学进行。通过本研究的设计和实施，为研究生和本科生提供了大量的教育机会。此外，本研究对提高员工满意度和生产力的技术发展以及如何将人格障碍患者融入劳动力队伍具有启示意义。研究结果将在科学会议上发表，并在高质量的社会心理学和商业期刊上广泛发表。

SES-0727108Michael LovagliaBret BradleyThe increased use of teams to do important work in organizations brings both positive and negative effects. One such issue is the so called "bad apple" effect where a highly disagreeable team member, for example, negatively impacts the team and its performance. This study aims to better understand (1) the process through which the negative impact occurs and (2) what factors might minimize the negative impact. According to affective events theory, work on social stressors, and other theoretical frameworks the investigator hypothesizes that a bad apple impacts the affective reactions of team members leading them to respond with defensive behaviors. These behaviors then combine and damage team processes like communication and cohesion which ultimately lead to poorer team performance. In addition, the level of interdependence among team members will moderate the impact of a bad apple on team affective reactions. The PIs have designed a lab study to test these hypotheses which will be conducted at the University of Iowa. The study provides numerous educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students through designing and carrying out the study. In addition, this research has implications for the development of techniques to improve worker satisfaction and productivity and how to integrate people with personality disorders into the workforce. Results will be presented at scientific conferences and published broadly in high quality social psychology and business journals.