Rewarding Cooperation May Not Help Task Speed

Although we know that in general members of teams need to be rewarded for working with each other to maximize group performance, few rules in human behavior apply in all cases. This study looked into the circumstances in which rewarding members for competing with each other—instead of cooperating—has benefits, using a simulated war game. In this case, 75 teams of four undergraduates had to protect bases against vehicles they could detect within a certain range but could not identify as friend or foe until the vehicles drew closer. Some teams were told the best team would get $40 to split ($10 each); others were told the best individual performer in each team would get $10. The researchers also tested for personality traits, and measured how fast enemy vehicles were destroyed (speed) and how many mistakes were made (accuracy).

The main findings were:

• Teams rewarded to cooperate were more accurate but not as fast as those rewarded to compete.
• Teams of people who were more shy and less agreeable did better when rewarded to compete, but personality was far less significant than type of task.
• The best individual performers weren't as affected by these factors as worst performers.

Source: Beersma, B., et al. (03), "Cooperation, Competition, and Team Performance: Toward a Contingency Approach," Academy of Management Review 46(5):572.