Errors in the heat of battle: Taking a closer look at shared cognition breakdowns through teamwork

    Authors

    K. A. Wilson; E. Salas; H. A. Priest;D. Andrews

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Hum. Factors

    Keywords

    GROUP COHESIVENESS; MENTAL MODELS; PERFORMANCE; WORK; TEAMS; LEVEL; TRUST; INTERDEPENDENCE; ORIENTATION; PERSONALITY; Behavioral Sciences; Engineering, Industrial; Ergonomics; Psychology, ; Applied; Psychology

    Abstract

    Objective: We developed a theoretically based taxonomy for classifying shared cognition breakdowns related to teamwork which contribute to fratricide incidents. Background: Fratricide on the battlefield is an inescapable cost of war. A number of technological advancements have been made in terms of combat identification systems to reduce the risk of these incidents. However, fratricide continues to occur at alarming rates. Method: We take a human-centered approach to understanding errors leading to fratricide incidents by focusing on shared cognition. We turn to the literature and provide the theoretical foundations for an error classification taxonomy to improve understanding of why fratricide incidents occur. Results: Based on our review of the literature, we identified a number of problem areas leading to fratricide incidents. However, many of the cited contributing factors were broad terms (e.g., poor coordination) and did little to tell us why the breakdown occurred and where improvements are needed. Therefore, we chose to focus on one specific area - teamwork breakdowns - and discuss in depth how these breakdowns contribute to fratricide. Conclusion: In this paper, we take a first step toward proposing a taxonomy that allows for the diagnostic assessment of what causes teamwork breakdowns in fratricide. We understand that a taxonomy is only as good as the data available and encourage richer case studies from which to learn. Application: To apply this taxonomy in an operational setting, we provide a set of behavioral markers that can be used to identify teamwork breakdowns on the battlefield.

    Journal Title

    Human Factors

    Volume

    49

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2007

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    243

    Last Page

    256

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000244903900007

    ISSN

    0018-7208

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