Abstract
In the face of increasingly prominent cyber security issues, the organization of cyber team analysts has become crucial to thwart cyber threats. Few studies have examined the functioning of the team and the interaction between individuals in a cyber defense context and how the context influences team adaptation. The present study investigates team cognition in a cyber defense context and in particular the nature of task- or team-centered communication among analysts during a cyber defense simulation exercise. Results indicate that markers of situation assessment and shared mental models are both strategically present and linked. Nevertheless, the frequency of these markers varies depending on the quantity and quality of problems encountered; in particular, variations in social support behaviors are observed. Decreasing social support behaviors during high level activities suggests the adaptation of social behaviors depending on the threats and attacks on the system. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of theories and potential consequences for strategic adaptation and team resilience.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cayirci E, Ghergherehchi R (2011) Modeling cyber attacks and their effects on decision process. In: proceedings of the 2011 winter simulation conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 2632–2641
Champion MA, Rajivan P, Cooke NJ, Jarixala S (2012) Team-base cyber defense analysis. ieee international multi-disciplinary conference on cognitive methods in situation awareness and decision support, New Orleans, LA
Cooke JN, Gorman JC, Myers CW, Duran JL (2013) Interactive team cognition. Cognit Sci 37:255–285
DeChurch LA, Mesmer-Magus JR (2010) Cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork: a meta-analysis. J Appl Psychol 95:32–53
Deline S, Guillet L, Guérin C, Rauffet P (2017a) Assessment of stress sources and moderators among analysts in a cyber attack simulation context. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society, 2017 annual meeting, Rome, pp 169–178
Deline S, Guillet L, Rauffet P, Guérin C (2017b) Le stress dans un contexte de cyberdéfense: relations entre mesures subjectives et physiologiques. 57ème Congrès de la Société Française de Psychologie, Paris
Driskell T, Salas E, Driskell JE (2018) Teams in extreme environments: alterations in team development and teamwork. Hum Resour Manag Rev 28:434–449
Ellwart T, Happ C, Gurtner A, Rack O (2015) Managing information overload in virtual teams: effects of a structured online team adaptation on cognition and performance. Eur J Work Org Psychol 24:812–826
Endsley MR (1995) Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Hum Factors 37:32–64
Finomore V, Sitz A, Blair E, Rahill K, Champion M, Funke G, Mancuso V, Knott B (2013) Effects of cyber disruption in a distributed team decision making task. Proc Hum Factors Ergonom Soc Annu Meet 57:394–398
Gorman JC, Cooke NJ, Winner JL (2006) Measuring team situation awareness in decentralized command and control systems. Ergonomics 49:1312–1325
Granåsen M, Andersson D (2015) Measuring team effectiveness in cyber defense exercises: a cross-disciplinary case study. Cogn Technol Work 18:121–143
Higgs M, Plewnia U, Ploch J (2005) Influence of team composition and task complexity on team performance. Team Perform Manag 11:227–250
House JS (1981) Work and stress and social support. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Jonker CM, Van Riemsdijk B, Vermeulen B (2011) Shared mental models: a conceptual analysis. In: proceedings of the COIN Lyon, France, August 2010, 132–151. Springer
Karn JS, Cowling AJ (2005) A study into the effect of disruptions on the performance of software engineering teams. In: The proceedings of the 4th international symposium on empirical software engineering (ISESE 2005), Noosa Heads, Australia, November 17–18, 2005, 417–427
McNeese M, Cooke NJ, D’Amico A, Endsley MR, Gonzalez C, Roth E, Salas E (2012) Perspectives on the role of cognition in cyber security. In: proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society annual meeting. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. September, 56, pp 268–271
Orasanu J, Salas E (1993) Team decision making in complex environments. In: Klein G, Orasanu J, Calderwood R, Zsambok CE (eds) Decision making in action: models and methods. Ablex, Norwood, pp 327–345
Porter CO, Hollenbeck JR, Ilgen DR, Ellis AP, West BJ, Moon H (2003) Backing up behaviors in teams: the role of personality and legitimacy of need. J Appl Psychol 88:391–403
Prince C, Salas E (1993) Training and research for teamwork in the military aircrew. In: Wiener E, Kanki B, Helmreich R (eds) Cockpit resource management. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 337–366
Rajivan P, Cooke N (2017) Impact of team collaboration on cyber security situational awareness. Lect Notes Comput Sci:203–226
Rajivan P, Champion M, Cooke NJ, Jariwala S, Dube G, Buchanan V (2013) Effects of teamwork versus group work on signal detection in cyber defense teams. In: International conference on augmented cognition: foundations of augmented cognition, pp 172–180
Rosen MA, Bedwell WL, Wildman JL, Fritzsche BA, Salas E, Shawn Burke C (2011) Managing adaptive performance in teams: guiding principles and behavioral markers for measurement. Hum Resour Manag Rev 21:107–122
Rouse WB, Morris NM (1986) On looking into the black box: prospects and limits in the search for mental models. Psychol Bull 100:349–363
Salas E, Fiore S (2004) Team cognition: understanding the factors that drive process and performance. American Psychological Association, Washington
Salas E, Stagl KC, Burke CS, Goodwin GF (2007) Fostering team effectiveness in organizations: toward an integrative theoretical framework of team performance. In: Shuart W, Spaulding W, Poland J (eds) Modeling complex systems: motivation, cognition, and social processes. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln
Zala-Mezö E, Wacker J, Künzle B, Brüesch M, Grote G (2009) The influence of standardisation and task load on team coordination patterns during anaesthesia inductions. Qual Saf Health Care 18:127–130
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the help provided by the Cyber Centre of Excellence, the Brittany region, and the University of South Brittany.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deline, S., Guillet, L., Rauffet, P. et al. Team cognition in a cyber defense context: focus on social support behaviors. Cogn Tech Work 23, 51–63 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-019-00614-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-019-00614-y