Construct validation of shared mental models: An examination of knowledge structure convergence among team members in a decision-making simulation

This study supported the development of evidence of construct validity for the shared mental model construct. The researcher examined the construct traits of convergence of shared mental models between members of a decision-making team and convergence of a team mental model with an expert mental model. The researcher also examined expected relationships between the construct trait and the variables of team decision-making performance and communication effectiveness. Finally, the researcher attempted to confirm the construct as a distinct effect on team performance by comparing the construct traits with the unrelated variables of academic performance and declarative knowledge.; Teams were composed of senior business students functioning as strategic planning teams for fictitious companies in an automated business strategy simulation. The study ran over a 10-week period representing 5 decision cycles. Thompson and Stappenbeck's Business Strategy Game (1998) was used for the simulation and to produce team performance data. Data on team members' mental models and subsequent model convergence was collected using questionnaires and an automated scaling procedure contained in the PCKnotTm program (Schevenveldt, 1998) that was based on 12 common economic and business terms. Measures of mental models and model convergence were analyzed using the PCKnot network analysis program. Data analysis was performed using SPSS for WindowsTM, version 8.0.; The researcher found that there was some evidence that team members perceived their mental models were growing more similar with those of their team mates and that the team mental model of the 12 terms were becoming more similar with the expert model over time. Additionally, the researcher found that the shared mental model variable was not related to academic Performance or declarative knowledge. However, because there was no increase in shared mental model similarity over time, there was insufficient evidence to support or refute the validity of the shared mental model construct.