This paper investigates how the Locus of Control (LOC) personality trait influences team performance in cooperative engineering design tasks and how this relationship is moderated by task complexity. LOC describes how individuals perceive their influence over outcomes, ranging from internal (self-directed) to external (influenced by chance or others). In a two-part experimental study, 24 design pairs classified as internal-internal (I-I), internal-external (I-E), or external-external (E-E) completed parameter design tasks under two conditions: one with structured progression of task complexity and one with randomized complexity. Results show that LOC pairing significantly affects performance outcomes. I-I pairs performed best in structured environments but worst in unstructured ones, while I-E and E-E teams showed relatively stable outcomes across contexts. These findings demonstrate that task complexity moderates the impact of personality traits on collaborative performance. Designing task environments that account for individual differences—such as sequencing complexity and providing preparatory phases—may enhance team effectiveness in engineering settings.
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The Effects of Locus of Control and Big Five Personality Traits on Collaborative Engineering Design Tasks With Negotiation
Collaborative systems design is a human-centered activity dependent on individual decision-making processes. Personality traits have been found to influence individual behaviors and tendencies to compete or cooperate. This paper investigates the effects of Big Five and Locus of Control personality traits on negotiated outcomes of a simplified collaborative engineering design task. Secondary data includes results from short-form personality inventories and outcomes of pair design tasks. The data includes ten sessions of four participants each, where each participant completes a sequence of 12 pair tasks involving design space exploration and negotiation. Regression analysis shows a statistically-significant relationship between Big Five and Locus of Control and total individual value accumulated across the 12 design tasks. Results show the Big Five, aggregating extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and intellect/imagination to a single factor, negatively affects individual value and internal Locus of Control positively affects individual value. Future work should consider a dedicated experiment to refine understanding of how personality traits influence collaborative systems design and propose interventions to improve collaborative design processes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1742971
- PAR ID:
- 10111099
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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