The Effect of Positive Goal and Resource Interdependence on Individual Performance

The effects of two types of positive interdependence (goal and resource) and attentional temptation on individual performance were compared for teamwork and taskwork situations. Fifty-eight U.S. 5th graders were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions—positive goal interdependence, positive resource interdependence, positive goal interdependence/positive resource interdependence, and no goal interdependence/no resource interdependence (individual)—stratified for gender, ability, and minority status. The students received 45 min of social studies instruction daily, for 24 days. Although the students in conditions without goal interdependence initially performed better than the students in conditions with goal interdependence, these results were reversed after a 5-week period. The dual responsibilities of taskwork and teamwork seemed to conflict with each other at first, but after the participants became more skilled at teamwork, the combination of taskwork and teamwork resulted in better individual performance than taskwork alone. In and of itself, positive resource interdependence did not promote cooperation.