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Effects of Sleep Loss on Team Decision Making: Motivational Loss or Motivational Gain?

Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Canada

Megan M. Thompson

Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Canada

Frederick M. J. Lichacz

Canadian Forces Experimentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada

Carol McCann

Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Canada

Valerie Gil

Transport Canada, Montreal, Canada

Luigi Pastò

John Abbott College, Montreal, Canada

Ross A. Pigeau

Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Canada

Objective: To examine the effects of 30 hr of sleep loss and continuous cognitive work on performance in a distributed team decision-making environment. Background: To date, only a few studies have examined the effect of sleep loss on distributed team performance, and only one other to our knowledge has examined the relationship between sleep loss and social-motivational aspects of teams (Hoeksema-van Orden, Gaillard, & Buunk, 1998). Method: Sixteen teams participated; each comprised 4 members. Three team members made threat assessments on a military surveillance task and then forwarded their judgments electronically to a team leader, who made a final assessment on behalf of the team. Results: Sleep loss had an antagonistic effect on team decision-making accuracy and decision time. However, the performance loss associated with fatigue attributable to sleep loss was mediated by being part of a team, as compared with performing the same task individually — that is, we found evidence of a "motivational gain" effect in these sleepy teams. We compare these results with those of Hoeksema-van Orden et al. (1998), who found clear evidence of a "social loafing" effect in sleepy teams. Conclusion: The divergent results are discussed in the context of the collective effort model (Karau & Williams, 1993) and are attributable in part to a difference between independent and interdependent team tasks. Application: The issues and findings have implications for a wide range of distributed, collaborative work environments, such as military network-enabled operations.

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 49, No. 4, 646-660 (2007)
DOI: 10.1518/001872007X215728


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