Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Interpersonal Trust Activity to Increase Team Creativity Outcome: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Approach

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Design Thinking Research

Part of the book series: Understanding Innovation ((UNDINNO))

Abstract

Organizational research demonstrates that team interpersonal trust enhances team performance and creativity. Design thinking offers many interactive team events such as warm-up games that are aimed at increasing team trust and collaboration. While effective in practice, little is understood about the underlying brain mechanisms that facilitate interpersonal trust during these activities. In this chapter, we present a novel interpersonal trust activity centered around human emotions that is designed to enhance interpersonal trust in both in-person and virtual (zoom) team interactions. We hypothesize that participating in an interpersonal trust activity prior to a collaborative design task will increase interpersonal trust and the creativity level of the collaborative outcome (i.e., creative product/innovation). We present our scientific approach for testing this hypothesis by applying the methods of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning in both in-person and virtual (video conferencing) team interactions. A better understanding of the neural signatures underlying an interpersonal trust activity will allow design thinking practitioners and educators to design novel and effective design thinking activities and interactions that can positively impact team trust and collaboration.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akgün, A. E., Keskin, H., Cebecioglu, A. Y., & Dogan, D. (2015). Antecedents and consequences of collective empathy in software development project teams. Information & Management, 52(2), 247–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ancona, D. G., & Caldwell, D. F. (1992). Demography and design: Predictors of new product team performance. Organization Science, 3(3), 321–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. M., Liu, N., Cui, X., Vrticka, P., Saggar, M., Hosseini, S. H., & Reiss, A. L. (2016). Sex differences in neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation revealed by fNIRS hyperscanning. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. M., Rojas-Valverde, D., Gutiérrez, R., Winkler, M., Fuhrimann, S., Eskenazi, B., Reiss, A. L., & Mora, A. M. (2017). Portable functional neuroimaging as an environmental epidemiology tool: A how-to guide for the use of fNIRS in field studies. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(9), 094502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balters, S., Baker, J. M., Hawthorne, G., & Reiss, A. L. (2020). Capturing human interaction in the virtual age: A perspective on the future of fNIRS Hyperscanning. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14, 458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balters, S., Baker, J. M., Hawthorne, G., & Reiss, A. L. (2021a). Inter-brain synchrony and innovation in a zoom world using analog and digital manipulatives. In Design thinking research (pp. 9–32). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Balters, S., Mayseless, N., Hawthorne, G., Reiss, A. L., et al. (2021b). The neuroscience of team cooperation versus team collaboration (Design thinking research: Interrogating the doing) (p. 203).

    Google Scholar 

  • Balters, S., & Steinert, M. (2015). Capturing emotion reactivity through physiology measurement as a foundation for affective engineering in engineering design science and engineering practices. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-015-1145-2

  • Barczak, G., Lassk, F., & Mulki, J. (2010). Antecedents of team creativity: An examination of team emotional intelligence, team trust and collaborative culture. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(4), 332–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brattström, A., Löfsten, H., & Richtnér, A. (2012). Creativity, trust and systematic processes in product development. Research Policy, 41(4), 743–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, D. F., & O’Reilly, C. A., III. (2003). The determinants of team-based innovation in organizations: The role of social influence. Small Group Research, 34(4), 497–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, D. M., & Edelman, J. (2019). Prediction of design team performance on a conceptual design task using an automatable, topic-independent analysis of language use. International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, 59278, V007T06A040.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, J. W., Sy, T., & Choi, J. N. (2012). Team emotional intelligence and performance: Interactive dynamics between leaders and members. Small Group Research, 43(1), 75–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(4), 644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cui, X., Bray, S., & Reiss, A. L. (2010). Functional near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signal improvement based on negative correlation between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin dynamics. NeuroImage, 49(4), 3039–3046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cui, X., Bryant, D. M., & Reiss, A. L. (2012). NIRS-based hyperscanning reveals increased interpersonal coherence in superior frontal cortex during cooperation. NeuroImage, 59(3), 2430–2437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, B. A., Dirks, K. T., & Gillespie, N. (2016). Trust and team performance: A meta-analysis of main effects, moderators, and covariates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), 1134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong, A., Hill, A. W., & Agogino, A. M. (2004). A document analysis method for characterizing design team performance. Journal of Mechanical Design, 126(3), 378–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Druskat, V. U., & Wolff, S. B. (2001a). Group emotional intelligence and its influence on group effectiveness. In The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups and organizations (pp. 132–155).

    Google Scholar 

  • Druskat, V. U., & Wolff, S. B. (2001b). Building the emotional intelligence of groups. Harvard Business Review, 79(3), 80–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funane, T., Kiguchi, M., Atsumori, H., Sato, H., Kubota, K., & Koizumi, H. (2011). Synchronous activity of two people’s prefrontal cortices during a cooperative task measured by simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Biomedical Optics, 16(7), 077011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grinsted, A., Moore, J. C., & Jevrejeva, S. (2004). Application of the cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence to geophysical time series. Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 11(5/6), 561–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jobst, B., Köppen, E., Lindberg, T., Moritz, J., Rhinow, H., & Meinel, C. (2012). The faith-factor in design thinking: Creative confidence through education at the design thinking schools Potsdam and Stanford? In Design thinking research (pp. 35–46). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D., & Grayson, K. (2005). Cognitive and affective trust in service relationships. Journal of Business Research, 58(4), 500–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, T., & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative confidence: Unleashing the creative potential within us all. Currency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerguenne, A. (2021). Strategisches Design Thinking als neuer Weg in der Führung von digitalen Transformations-Prozessen. In C. Meinel & T. Krohn (Eds.), Design Thinking in der Bildung—Innovation kann man lernen (pp. 285–302). Wiley-VCH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koch, J. (2021). Human Centeredness in Professional Education—Über den Nutzen und die Anwendung eines menschenzentrierten Ansatzes im Bereich Professional Education. In C. Meinel & T. Krohn (Eds.), Design Thinking in der Bildung—Innovation kann man lernen (pp. 303–314). Wiley-VCH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kress, G., Steinert, M., & Price, T. (2012). Cognition as a measure of team diversity. In 2012 2nd Interdisciplinary Engineering Design Education Conference (IEDEC) (pp. 67–72).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kruse, L., Kochenderfer, M. J., Reiss, A. L., & Balters, S. (2021). Dyadic Sex Composition and Task Classification Using fNIRS Hyperscanning Data. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications. December13–16, 2021, Pasadena, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasecki, W. S., Gordon, M., Koutra, D., Jung, M. F., Dow, S. P., & Bigham, J. P. (2014). Glance: Rapidly coding behavioral video with the crowd. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 551–562). https://doi.org/10.1145/2642918.2647367

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C., & Wong, C.-S. (2019). The effect of team emotional intelligence on team process and effectiveness. Journal of Management & Organization, 25(6), 844–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, R., Mayseless, N., Balters, S., & Reiss, A. (2021). Dynamic inter-brain synchrony in real-life inter-personal cooperation: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy Hyperscanning study. NeuroImage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N., Mok, C., Witt, E. E., Pradhan, A. H., Chen, J. E., & Reiss, A. L. (2016). NIRS-based hyperscanning reveals inter-brain neural synchronization during cooperative Jenga game with face-to-face communication. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, T., Saito, G., Lin, C., & Saito, H. (2017). Inter-brain network underlying turn-based cooperation and competition: A hyperscanning study using near-infrared spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, K., Teng, J., & Hao, N. (2020). Gender of partner affects the interaction pattern during group creative idea generation. Experimental Brain Research, 238(5), 1157–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, K., Xue, H., Nozawa, T., & Hao, N. (2019). Cooperation makes a group be more creative. Cerebral Cortex, 29(8), 3457–3470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayseless, N., Hawthorne, G., & Reiss, A. L. (2019). Real-life creative problem solving in teams: FNIRS based hyperscanning study. NeuroImage, 203, 116161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect-and cognition-based trust as foundations for interpersonal cooperation in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 38(1), 24–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (2007). Brief versions of the NEO-PI-3. Journal of Individual Differences, 28(3), 116–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. G., Vrtička, P., Cui, X., Shrestha, S., Hosseini, S. H., Baker, J. M., & Reiss, A. L. (2019). Inter-brain synchrony in mother-child dyads during cooperation: An fNIRS hyperscanning study. Neuropsychologia, 124, 117–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molavi, B., & Dumont, G. A. (2012). Wavelet-based motion artifact removal for functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Physiological Measurement, 33(2), 259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mønster, D., Håkonsson, D. D., Eskildsen, J. K., & Wallot, S. (2016). Physiological evidence of interpersonal dynamics in a cooperative production task. Physiology & Behavior, 156, 24–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ney, S., & Meinel, C. (2019). Putting design thinking to work: How large organizations can embrace messy institutions to tackle wicked problems. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Noweski, C., Scheer, A., Büttner, N., von Thienen, J., Erdmann, J., & Meinel, C. (2012). Towards a paradigm shift in education practice: Developing twenty-first century skills with design thinking. In Design thinking research (pp. 71–94). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parke, M. R., Seo, M.-G., & Sherf, E. N. (2015). Regulating and facilitating: The role of emotional intelligence in maintaining and using positive affect for creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plank, I. S., von Thienen, J. P. A., & Meinel, C. (2021). The neuroscience of empathy: Research-overview and implications for human-Centred design. Design Thinking Research, 89–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rauth, I., Köppen, E., Jobst, B., Meinel, C., et al. (2010). Design thinking: An educational model towards creative confidence. In DS 66-2: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC 2010).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezvani, A., Barrett, R., & Khosravi, P. (2019). Investigating the relationships among team emotional intelligence, trust, conflict and team performance. Team Performance Management: An International Journal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezvani, A., & Khosravi, P. (2019). Emotional intelligence: The key to mitigating stress and fostering trust among software developers working on information system projects. International Journal of Information Management, 48, 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. B., & Chopra, D. (2015). Nonviolent communication: A language of life: Life-changing tools for healthy relationships. PuddleDancer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothouse, M. J. (2020). A mindful approach to team creativity and collaboration in organizations: Creating a culture of innovation. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S., & Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royalty, A., Oishi, L., & Roth, B. (2012). “I use it every day”: Pathways to adaptive innovation after graduate study in design thinking. In Design thinking research (pp. 95–105). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Royalty, A., Oishi, L. N., & Roth, B. (2014). Acting with creative confidence: Developing a creative agency assessment tool. In Design thinking research (pp. 79–96). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Santosa, H., Zhai, X., Fishburn, F., & Huppert, T. (2018). The NIRS brain AnalyzIR toolbox. Algorithms, 11(5), 73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santosa, H., Zhai, X., Fishburn, F., Sparto, P. J., & Huppert, T. J. (2020). Quantitative comparison of correction techniques for removing systemic physiological signal in functional near-infrared spectroscopy studies. Neurophotonics, 7(3), 035009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholkmann, F., Kleiser, S., Metz, A. J., Zimmermann, R., Pavia, J. M., Wolf, U., & Wolf, M. (2014). A review on continuous wave functional near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging instrumentation and methodology. NeuroImage, 85, 6–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjöman, H., Steinert, M., Kress, G., Vignoli, M., et al. (2015). Dynamically capturing engineering team interactions with wearable technology. In DS 80-11 Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 15) Vol 11: Human Behaviour in Design, Design Education; Milan, Italy, 27–30.07 (Vol. 15, pp. 153–162).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonalkar, N., Mabogunje, A., & Leifer, L. (2013). Developing a visual representation to characterize moment-to-moment concept generation in design teams. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, 1(2), 93–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, A. V. (2021). Die Vermittlung von Improvisationskompetenzen als Schlüssel zur Beherrschung der Grundlagen des Design Thinking. In C. Meinel & T. Krohn (Eds.), Design Thinking in der Bildung—Innovation kann man lernen (pp. 315–332). Wiley-VCH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking-TTCT manual and scoring guide: Verbal test A, figural test. Ginn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Traifeh, H., Nicolai, C., Refaie, R., Meinel, C., et al. (2020). Engaging digital engineering students in design thinking. DS 101: Proceedings of NordDesign 2020, Lyngby, Denmark., 12th–14th August 2020 (pp. 1–14).

    Google Scholar 

  • Uebernickel, F., & Thong, C. (2021). Die Kontextualisierung des Design Thinking mit multiplen Intelligenzen. In C. Meinel & T. Krohn (Eds.), Design Thinking in der Bildung—Innovation kann man lernen (pp. 387–428). Wiley-VCH.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Thienen, J., Royalty, A., & Meinel, C. (2017). Design thinking in higher education: How students become dedicated creative problem solvers. In Handbook of research on creative problem-solving skill development in higher education (pp. 306–328). IGI Global.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • West, S., Hoff, E., & Carlsson, I. (2017). Enhancing team creativity with playful improvisation theater: A controlled intervention field study. International Journal of Play, 6(3), 283–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyatt, J. S., Delpy, D. T., Cope, M., Wray, S., & Reynolds, E. (1986). Quantification of cerebral oxygenation and haemodynamics in sick newborn infants by near infrared spectrophotometry. The Lancet, 328(8515), 1063–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, M., Liu, T., Pelowski, M., Jia, H., & Yu, D. (2017a). Social risky decision-making reveals gender differences in the TPJ: A hyperscanning study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Brain and Cognition, 119, 54–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, M., Liu, T., Pelowski, M., & Yu, D. (2017b). Gender difference in spontaneous deception: A hyperscanning study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Stephanie Balters & Allan L. Reiss

  2. Hasso-Plattner-Institute, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany

    Theresa J. Weinstein

  3. Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school), Stanford, CA, USA

    Grace Hawthorne

Authors
  1. Stephanie Balters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Theresa J. Weinstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Grace Hawthorne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Allan L. Reiss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie Balters .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hasso Plattner Institute and Digital Engineering Faculty, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Christoph Meinel

  2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Larry Leifer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Balters, S., Weinstein, T.J., Hawthorne, G., Reiss, A.L. (2022). Interpersonal Trust Activity to Increase Team Creativity Outcome: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Approach. In: Meinel, C., Leifer, L. (eds) Design Thinking Research . Understanding Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09297-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation