Interpersonal Dynamics and Cognitive Processes Associated with Innovation in Multidisciplinary Engineering Teams

这项研究促进了对冲突解决和表达过程如何导致科学和工程创新的理解。许多创新是由于汇集了多学科团队来解决复杂的跨学科问题；这样的团队被认为能够比单一学科的团队产生更多新颖的解决方案。然而，这些团队在沟通和协调方面存在问题。本研究考察了冲突解决和表达的特定模式如何与最终的工程团队创新成功相关联。智力价值：该项目整合了三种非常不同的文献：团队冲突和凝聚力的社会心理学研究；类比、心理模拟与不确定性的认知心理学研究以及关于长期婚姻成功的文献来确定围绕冲突的互动模式会导致成功或不成功的长期关系。先前的研究通常是孤立地研究这些变量。要知道如何干预以增加长期多学科团队的工程产出，必须了解这些之间的关系。该项目检查了从48个本科多学科工程团队收集的大型现有音频-视频数据集，这些团队的最终产品从劣质到合格再到创新。这个项目有几个优点：整合不同的文献以更好地理解团队过程，从事多学科工程设计的团队的外部效度，不同的团队有不同的结果，以及详细的，可观察的过程数据揭示？黑盒吗?的创新。更广泛的影响。美国在科技领域和当前的经济形势下面临着严峻的挑战。多学科团队对于解决复杂的国家问题至关重要，但往往无法兑现他们的承诺。必须利用创新来创造就业机会、生产新产品和刺激长期经济增长。科学和工程团队的繁荣应该像其他重要的人类活动一样受到严格的审查。这个项目对工程教育也有启示。当发现了具体的、可观察到的对以后创新或创新失败的警告信号时，可以根据实证结果制定教学建议。

This research advances understanding about how the processes of conflict resolution and expression can lead to innovation in science and engineering. Much innovation is due to bringing together multidisciplinary teams to solve complex cross-disciplinary problems; such teams are thought to be able to generate more novel solutions than single disciplinary teams. However, such teams are plagued by problems in communication and coordination. This research examines how particular patterns of conflict resolution and expression can be associated with eventual engineering team innovation success. Intellectual Merit: The project integrates three very different literatures: social psychological studies of team conflict and cohesion; cognitive psychological research on analogy, mental simulation, and uncertainty; and the literature on long-term marital success to determine what interaction patterns surrounding conflict result in successful versus unsuccessful long-term relationships. Prior research has typically studied these variables in isolation. To know how to intervene to increase engineering output in long-term, multidisciplinary teams, the relationships between these must be understood. The project examines a large existing audio-video dataset collected from 48 undergraduate multidisciplinary engineering teams, whose eventual products ranged from poor to competent to innovative. This project has several merits: the integration of different literatures to better understand team processes, external validity in teams engaged in multidisciplinary engineering design, different teams with a variety of outcomes, and detailed, observable process data unpacking the ?black box? of innovation.Broader Impacts. The US is facing serious challenges in the fields of science and technology and with the current economy. Multidisciplinary teams are vital to solving complex national problems but often fail to live up to their promise. Innovation must be harnessed to create employment opportunities, generate novel products, and spur long-term economic growth. The flourishing of science and engineering teams should be examined with the same rigor as other important human endeavors. This project also has implications for engineering education. As specific, observable warning signs for later innovation or failure to innovate are discovered, suggestions for pedagogy can be formulated based on empirical findings.