Coordination in Human and Primate Groups

Boos, Margarete, Prof. Dr. phil., since 1995 Professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University Göttingen, Spokesperson of the Courant Research Centre Evolution of Social Behaviour within the Excellence Initiative of the University of Göttingen. Research on group coordination, computer-mediated communication in groups, psychology of brands. Counseling and training in the fields of cooperation and leadership, civil courage and moderation of groups. Kolbe, Michaela, Dr. rer. nat., since 2007 postdoctoral research assistant at the ETH Zurich. She received her Diploma and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology from the University of Goettingen, Germany. Her research focuses on coordination processes in groups, especially decision-making and medical teams. Ellwart, Thomas, Dr., since 2007 Ass. Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology from Dresden Technical University, Germany. His major focus in research is on work teams with topics such as cooperation and coordination processes, knowledge exchange and process improvement. In these topics his current focus is on influences of age diversity and computer-mediated communication. Kappeler, Peter, Prof. Dr., since 2003 Professorship in Sociobiology/Anthropology (University of Göttingen) and head of the department of Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology (German Primate Centre). Main fields of research: primate and human behaviour, evolution of social systems, sexual selection, molecular ecology, biodiversity and conservation.

Coordination in Human and Primate Groups presents one of the first collections of the different methods and approaches used to assess coordination processes in groups. Written by psychologists and primatologists, the book represents a broad range of coordination research fields such as social psychology, work and organizational psychology, medicine, primatology, and behavioral ecology. It is designed for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the behavioral aspects of group coordination.

Presents an overview of the variety of the latest assessment methods of group coordination and the scope of their potential applications and good practice for implementation

Part I Theoretical Approaches to Group Coordination.- Coordination in Human and Nonhuman Primate Groups: Why Compare and How?.- An Inclusive Model of Group Coordination.- Coordination of Group Movements in Nonhuman Primates.- Dimensions of Group Coordination: Applicability Test of the Coordination Mechanism Circumplex Model.- The Role of Coordination in Preventing Harm in Healthcare Groups: Research Examples from Anesthesia and an Integrated Model of Coordination for Action Teams in Health Care.- Developing Observational Categories for Group Process Research Based on Task and Coordination Requirement Analysis: Examples from Research on Medical Emergency-Driven Teams.- Part II Assessing Coordination in Human Groups - Concepts and Methods Part.- Assessing Coordination in Human Groups: Concepts and Methods.- Measurement of Team Knowledge in the Field: Methodological Advantages and Limitations.- An Observation-Based Method for Measuring the Sharedness of Mental Models in Teams.- Effective Coordination in Human Group Decision Making: MICRO-CO: A Micro-analytical Taxonomy for Analyzing Explicit Coordination Mechanisms in Decision-Making Groups.- Part III Primatological Approaches to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Group Coordination.- Primatological Approaches to the Study of Group Coordination.- Communicative and Cognitive Underpinnings of Animal Group Movement.- Communicative Cues Among and Between Human and Nonhuman Primates: Attending to Specificity in Triadic Gestural Interactions.- Coordination in Primate Mixed-Species Groups.