Development of the Referee Shared Mental Models Measure (RSMMM)

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Psychology
• Team Dynamics

Background:

• Shared mental models (SMMs) are crucial for team coordination and performance.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the unique demands of sports officiating.
• Developing context-specific SMM measures is essential for understanding team functioning in sports.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new measure of shared mental models tailored for sports referees.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the proposed Referee Shared Mental Models Measure (RSMMM).
• To examine the relationship between shared mental models and key performance indicators in referee teams.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Data were collected from three distinct samples of football and futsal referees (total N = 570).
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to establish the internal structure of the RSMMM.

Main Results:

• The Referee Shared Mental Models Measure (RSMMM) demonstrated a robust single-factor structure with 13 items.
• The RSMMM exhibited good validity, supported by internal structure analysis and positive correlations with teamwork engagement, adaptive performance, and team effectiveness.
• The measure showed promising psychometric properties for assessing SMMs in sports officiating teams.

Conclusions:

• The RSMMM is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring shared mental models in football and futsal referee teams.
• The findings support the utility of the RSMMM in evaluating team dynamics and performance in sports officiating.
• This measure can aid in targeted interventions to enhance referee team coordination and effectiveness.