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Do familiar teammates request and accept more backup? Transactive memory in air traffic control
Kimberly A Smith-Jentsch1, Kurt Kraiger, Janis A Cannon-Bowers
1Psychology Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816-1390, USA. kjentsch@mail.ucf.edu
Human Factors
|August 6, 2009
Summary
Teammate familiarity and shared knowledge increase backup requests and acceptance in high-pressure air traffic control (ATC) teams. This supports transactive memory theory in critical operational environments.
Area of Science:
- Human factors in aviation safety
- Team dynamics and coordination
Background:
- Transactive memory theory explains how teams develop shared understanding of expertise.
- This theory's applicability in high-stress, high-consequence environments like air traffic control (ATC) is explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate factors influencing backup requests and acceptance among ATC teammates.
- Examine the role of transactive memory in explaining team differences in backup behavior.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional data from 51 commercial air traffic control (ATC) teams.
- Multiple regression analysis to test hypotheses.
Main Results:
- Greater experience working together correlated with increased backup requests and acceptance.
- Teammate knowledge consensus and perceived team efficacy mediated the relationship between experience and backup behavior.
Conclusions:
- Transactive memory theory is applicable to high-stress environments with overlapping expertise.
- Shared mental models among teammates enhance the likelihood of requesting and accepting backup.
- Teammate familiarity and training for knowledge consensus/team efficacy are crucial for operational success.
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