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.

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.

Approximately 10-20% of adolescents globally struggle with mental health conditions. Due to multiple physical, social and emotional changes, adolescents are particularly vulnerable to mental health illnesses. Untreated or inadequately treated mental health conditions can be exacerbated by stigma, discrimination, and isolation. The inability to effectively address mental health problems can manifest both short-term and long-term consequences into adulthood, impairing both quality of life and having negative impacts on health outcomes and mortality. Mental Health for Every Adolescent (MHEA) is a programme we, as students at the University of Washington, created as an early intervention to destigmatize and educate students about mental health. Through this project, we sought to understand the impact and need for community based mental health intervention for young adults. We partnered with faculty to create curricula that addressed stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health related topics. We then recruited volunteers through social media advertising and virtually trained them to facilitate workshops. Using feedback we obtained from local stakeholders at our workshop sites, we modified our curricula to ensure they were culturally appropriate and sensitive. Over the course of 3 years, we completed 74 workshops across 3 countries - India, the United Arab Emirates and the US - and we reached more than 3100 middle school and high school students. We found that the needs of students varied across communities and therefore, the workshops had to be tailored appropriately. In April 2020, the MHEA team leveraged local relationships and published a COVID-specific guide aimed at adolescents which was launched at 6 school districts in the United States. The MHEA project describes a successful implementation of a community-based mental health intervention for children and young adults. Programmatic materials developed can be disseminated and incorporated into middle and high-school curriculum. Future work will evaluate the impact on participants in the program.

Long duration space missions pose a challenge on crew members’ mental well-being and, subsequently, their work together. Since the trip to Mars is expected to last 3 years, researchers need to help prepare teams to be successful throughout this time period. The crew spends not only working time together, but also a majority of their downtime. As such, we can consider how this fluid suite of interactions can be used to maintain morale and team relationships for the long haul. In this study, I explore the use of humor in downtime engagements by crews in the HERA station - an analogue space station situated at Johnson Space Center in Houston. I listen to the audio data from crews completing a 45 day mission to explore how humor influences their task success. I use a qualitative case based approach to assess humor and its effect on teamwork and validate these assessments with NASA subject matter experts in behavioral health performance. Preliminary research shows that activities, such as watching sitcoms and joking while watching the news help crew members form and maintain strong relationships that later influence task success. My findings can instruct the set up of humor opportunities for long duration space mission crews. In addition, real-world team leaders can utilize these findings to improve their team cohesion and performance.