Psychologists turn spotlight on teamwork

Psychologists have turned the spotlight on team work, which is often invoked to boost output, meet targets or deliver better healthcare and services.

"We are developing a new science to show what works and doesn't work and why," said Eduardo Salas, organizational psychologist at the University of Central Florida, who co-authored the study with graduate students Marissa L. Shuffler and Deborah Diaz Granados.

Team building helps members learn to about one another, clarify roles, work through problems, and cooperate toward accomplishing shared goals, the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science reported.

"Team work has been found to improve performance little or not at all. The science of teamwork is young. For one thing, the successes get published while the failures fade into the ether, concluded Salas, a university statement said.