Team Physiological Dynamics: A Critical Review

Abstract

Objective: Review the use of physiological measurement in team settings and propose recommendations to improve the state of the science.

Background: New sensor and analytical capabilities enable exploration of relationships between team members' physiological dynamics. We conducted a review of physiological measures used in research on teams to understand (1) how these measures are theoretically and operationally related to team constructs and (2) what types of validity evidence exist for physiological measurement in team settings.

Method: We identified 32 articles that investigated task-performing teams using physiological data. Articles were coded on several dimensions, including team characteristics. Study findings were categorized by relationships tested between team physiological dynamics (TPD) and team inputs, mediators/processes, outputs, or psychometric properties.

Results: TPD researchers overwhelmingly measure single physiological systems. Although there is research linking TPD to inputs and outputs, the research on processes is underdeveloped.

Conclusion: We recommend several theoretical, methodological, and statistical themes to expand the growth of the TPD field.

Application: Physiological measures, once established as reliable indicators of team functioning, might be used to diagnose suboptimal team states and cue interventions to ameliorate these states.

Keywords: group processes; physiological measurement; team dynamics; team performance measurement; team physiology.