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When Good Teammates Are Bad: Physiological Threat on Recently Formed Teams

This research examined the ways in which superior teammate performance in recently formed teams affects an individual’s motivation. It was hypothesized that members of recently formed teams for whom social identity was not yet salient would experience threat, a maladaptive physiological pattern that indicates low perceptions of coping resources relative to situational demands. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that this effect would be the greatest for individuals on recently formed teams who had briefly interacted with teammates but still lacked a strong social identity, relative to those who have not interacted with teammates at all. Fifty-three participants were each paired with 2 confederates to form 53 triads. Depending on the condition, participants and confederates either competed as a team on a mental task (minimal team condition), completed a team-building exercise prior to competing as a team on a mental task (team condition), or competed as individuals against each other (individual/coaction baseline condition) on a mental task. The results revealed that participants who worked on a team with superior performers were threatened. Interestingly, participants who had the opportunity to bond with their teammates prior to working together were even more threatened by superior performers. Results are discussed in terms of psychological closeness and social comparison theory.