Teamwork, now widely recognized as a vital corporate, academic and social dynamic, requires each team member to share a similar individual understanding of the task at hand. In this research, we analyzed shifts in team members’ individual mental models to gain a deeper understanding of this process. We listened to and coded audio files granted by NASA’s Human Research Program, extracted from a few of NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) mission campaign teams as they were preparing for, executing, and debriefing various simulated missions. We developed a coding scheme to assess the statement’s process, purpose, and contribution to mental model shifts. A statement’s process refers to its topic in terms of planning, acting or evaluating (this idea is backed by literature). A statement’s purpose declares whether what was said was an agreement, disagreement, suggestion, or direction. In accordance with the purpose and process of the statement, we concluded whether each specific statement helped in moving the team towards a shared understanding (positive shift) or away from a shared understanding (negative shift). At the end of each task, based on the gathered data, we deduced whether the team had a shared mental model of the task. This coding scheme, as well as its application, will be instrumental in guiding future research that implements team communication in the understanding of mental model states. In addition, this coding system may reveal patterns that can predict future instances where teams experience a series of negative mental model shifts and instruct future interventions.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in-person mental health services became, in many cases, prohibited, increasing the need for telehealth. The present study will investigate clinicians’ perceptions of the effectiveness of delivering cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) via telehealth. Telehealth, in this context, refers to remotely delivering psychotherapy via a variety of platforms such as on-line services, video, and/or phone calls. Previous studies found that delivering CBT via telehealth can be as effective as in-person delivery. However, there are barriers to implementing psychotherapy remotely, including lack of training support, organizational and clinician buy-in, and cost. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether clinicians found delivering CBT via telehealth effective, whether it had an impact on engagement and therapeutic relationships, and how well elements of CBT training were provided during telehealth delivery. Data came from a project leveraging a Washington State CBT+ Initiative. Clinicians and supervisors from agencies in WA state participated and got training in CBT for youth depression, anxiety, trauma, and behavioral problems. Clinicians completed pre-and post-training surveys with questions pertaining to how telehealth preparation time compared to in-person sessions, clinicians’ opinions on continued telehealth implementation, clinicians’ ability to deliver effective services via telehealth, and client and caregiver engagement levels over telehealth. We plan to run descriptive analyses to summarize clinicians’ perceptions of telehealth. Preliminary analyses suggest that most clinicians found telehealth to be beneficial and an effective way to deliver CBT to youth. Further, our analyses reveal that clinicians, on average, found engaging younger children in treatment as the most significant barrier associated with telehealth. Harnessing telehealth for the provision of CBTs may be a viable solution that addresses some barriers to access. If telehealth is found effective by clinicians, it could serve as a long-term option for delivering CBTs. Therefore, it is important to understand clinicians’ perspectives.

Diversity training in organizational environments has become commonplace in the 21st century. Most contemporary training seeks to make employees aware of implicit bias and the structural inequities that exist from systematic oppression. However, training is often not grounded in evidence-based practices and past research has shown diversity training may increase stereotyping and bias towards minorities. Additionally, high-status groups (e.g., White people, men) may perceive increased unfairness towards high-status members due to the emphasis on diversity, commonly referred as “reverse racism” or anti-White bias. This study seeks to further investigate how applicants view an organization's approach to diversity. White participants will be asked to apply for a scholarship and subsequently rejected. By investigating anti-White bias after a rejection, this study aims to examine whether Whites rationalize rejection with pro-diversity messages to protect against threat. I am also interested in perceived employability: a principle that has been shown to be linked with emotional regulation, health, and self esteem. I predict the magnitude of perceived qualification for a position moderates the degree of anti-White bias reported. Research on organizational diversity is imperative to decrease turn-over rates and increase satisfaction for minority employees.

In the fields of physics and economics, the conceptualization of time is that it is constant, never changing. However, using a cognitive psychological approach, time is anything but constant. Some days seem incredibly long, while others fly by quickly. Some days we have all the time in the world, while other days we don’t have enough time. This is a result of our perception of time. There is much research in cognitive psychology about manipulation of our Temporal Perception, but there is no research on the application of this phenomenon to how we organize and prioritize our daily tasks. Additionally, there is no current information on whether the perceived Temporal Distance of a task’s due date changes when a person completes a task alone vs in a team. My project seeks to fill both these voids in literature. This project is based on perception, so there is commonly a difference between what participants say and what they do. To address this difference, I intend on conducting a survey about individual participants’ experiences with prioritizing tasks and experiences with teamwork, as well as conducting a task-prioritization activity. The survey will be disseminated over Amazon mTurk’s survey service, while the teamwork task prioritization activity will be conducted throughout courses here at the University of Washington. I am still in the construction phase of this study so I have no preliminary results yet, but one hypothesis is that there will be a positive correlation between team process gain (whether a group of people works better in a team than alone) and perceived temporal distance, with a negative correlation between stress level and these variables. A summary matrix of temporal distance perception and prioritization will be presented that can inform team leaders, as well as individual members about the management of time.

 Marguerite Trost is an elite Division I women’s rower, who has competed since the age of fourteen, even attaining unofficial world records in the lightweight class. After a strong freshman year performance at the University of Washington, Marguerite suffered a sacral stress fracture which derailed her sophomore season. Despite a perceived state of full recovery, Marguerite suddenly hit a wall, and it seemed as if she had forgotten how to row. Her body no longer listened to her mind, and she felt as if she was disconnected from the movements that she had found second-nature for so long. After a period of anguish and self-discovery, she began to research the barriers she was now facing, hoping that someone, anyone, may have experienced something similar. And it turns out, they had. This paper discusses the “yips”, an under-researched, yet surprisingly prevalent phenomenon found primarily in sports that require precision to a target, such as baseball or golf. The yips can be defined as a movement disorder, one that has physical and mental etiologies, and entails a seemingly irreversible disconnect between an athlete’s muscle-memory and the motion it produces: a task-specific focal dystonia. There is little to no literature on this phenomenon in rowing specifically. In our paper, we intend to explore and evaluate the convergent factors of rowing “yips” such as injury, the Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S), mental health, and societal pressures that all influence an athlete’s experience and ultimate performance. Through interviews with sports medicine professionals, ancillary team staff and impacted athletes in multiple sports, as well as current Division I athletes, we will glean a broader understanding of the contributing factors to develop a framework for further study. Additionally, we expect many directions of neurological, physiological, and sociological research to stem from this beginning.

The University of Washington Bothell (UWB) has a campus emergency response team (CERT) that is not widely known or sustainable. Part of its mission is to train students to participate in emergency response and engage them in other CERT activities. However, UWB CERT struggled in its efforts to recruit students for CERT training and raise awareness of CERT and hazard threats among students. This research project analyzed the successes and best practices of CERT programs in other universities across the Unites States and assessed which practices would be most feasible for implementation at UWB. Research methods included reading case studies about best disaster preparedness practices and conducting interviews of staff at different universities to see what works on each campus. A report centering on recommended best practices will be provided to UWB administrators. This should help UWB develop a plan for the creation of a sustainable CERT program which will greatly increase the number of students trained in emergency preparedness and response skills that they can apply on and off campus, as well as keep the university accountable to student safety.