Are you thinking what I am thinking? A feasibility study of a virtual reality measurement for shared mental models in team sports

Purpose Situational measures of shared mental models (SMMs) hold the highest ecological transfer to behavior on the field. The purpose of this study is to pursue two objectives: (pilot study) testing a measurement of SMMs in virtual reality (VR) and examining the feasibility in testing the method (main study) by investigating the relationship between SMMs and predictive group processes such as team trust and collective efficacy, as well as the impact of SMMs on team performance. Design/methodology/approach The developed VR measurement is tested in the pilot study with nine handball middle-block teams (M = 16.92 years of playing experience and SD = 3.59). The measurement consists of two conditions (Self/Partner) with 35 video clips. Participants indicate their own decision (Self) and their middle-block partner‘s decision (Partner). A congruent decision (SelfA/PartnerB) of teammates on one video indicates a SMM within a situation and its average across videos form the teams SMMs. In the main study, 33 middle-block teams (M = 16.92 years of playing experience and SD = 4.47), participated and completed the VR method and questionnaires on team trust, collective efficacy, SMMs and team performance. Findings The pilot study shows that SMMs are measurable using VR as they are higher than chance. In the main study, a structural equation model did not confirm the assumed influences. Only team trust significantly influences objective team performance ( β = 0.46). Questionnaire SMMs, however, correlate with team trust ( r = 0.67) and subjective team performance ( r = 0.55). Originality/value This study serves as a starting point for more situational group research, and the VR measurement holds promise for this purpose.