Accession Number:
AD0262742
Title:
DECREMENTAL EFFECTS OF REINFORCEMENT IN TEAMS WITH REDUNDANT MEMBERS
Descriptive Note:
Corporate Author:
AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH PITTSBURGH PA
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
1961-09-02
Pagination or Media Count:
1.0
Abstract:
This study was undertaken to support the theory that the addition of an extra member to a team will enhance that teams performance. In the teams studied, however, this effect was maintained only temporarily, and with continued practice, five of the six teams showed a decided performance decrement, falling to a level which was at least 33 below that of either of the original two-man components. This decrement was explained by the reinforcement contingencies present in the situation which permitted a redundant member to be reinforced for inappropriate performance even though the performance of the team was correct. The results of this study indicate that, in spite of a possible increment in initial team output, redundant teams under the conditions investigated were showing an eventual performance decrement. Author