A Google search on “team chemistry” returns over 443,000 entries (October 2014) usually denoting some sort of team process, such as cohesion, shared mental models, and collective efficacy. Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and business managers) often emphasize the importance of team chemistry for optimal performance. For instance, former NFL quarterback and current business executive Roger Staubach noted that “In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.” Researchers in performance psychology also allude to the notion of “team chemistry” when discussing exceptional teams (Levine, 1994; Gershgoren et al., 2013)

Filho, Edson

English

PubMed

CLoK

TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      1   “Team Chemistry” through Chemistry Lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum? Edson Filho1  With replies by Harold Kroto2, Gershon Tenenbaum2, & Maurizio Bertollo1  1University of Chieti 2 Florida State University   Corresponding Author:   Edson Filho, PhD. Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center - University of Chieti Via dei Vestini, 33 - 66013, Chieti, Italy Email: soares_medeiros@yahoo.com.br Phone: +39 333.304.5650 / +49 0176.3514.6564    TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      2   “Team Chemistry” through Chemistry Lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum? A Google search on “team chemistry” returns over 443,000 entries (October 2014) usually denoting some sort of team process, such as cohesion, shared mental models, and collective efficacy. Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and business managers) often emphasize the importance of team chemistry for optimal performance. For instance, former NFL quarterback and current business executive Roger Staubach noted that “In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry." Researchers in performance psychology also allude to the notion of “team chemistry” when discussing exceptional teams (Gershgoren, Filho, Tenenbaum, & Schinke, 2014; Levine, 1994).  Although practitioners and researchers refer to team chemistry as an antecedent of team expertise, there has been neither philosophical nor conceptual debate on whether chemistry principles may indeed inform performance and sport psychology research and practice. Therefore, the question that motivates me to write this commentary paper is: “What if scholars would indeed seek inspiration in microscopic chemistry principles in order to better understand macroscopic team dynamics”? Of note, mixing “soft” and “hard” sciences is common in the pursuit of interdisciplinary research. Applied philosophers and psychologists have long tried to establish connections between group processes and the natural world (i.e., “Associationist School”). Recently, psychologists have employed concepts from physics, including quantum theory, to study decision-making in social contexts (Busemeyer, Wang, & Townsend, 2006). Specific to chemistry, Green (2012) uses history to discuss fundamental organic chemistry principles, while Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto (2005) wrote about how art and design inspired his research on chemistry.  TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      3  Although I do not have a “set-in-stone” response to the question I propose herein, I open debate and share insights on whether, and how, general chemistry concepts may be useful to performance and sport psychologists interested in team dynamics. Specifically, I comment on two overarching chemistry concepts that emerged in several Nobel Laureates’ presentations during the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (LNLM) in chemistry. During this week-long scientific gathering 34 Laureates discussed how chemistry (and its disciplines, such as organic, inorganic, and biochemistry) has been used to inform research and practice in various domains of human interest including social matters such as education and politics. First, I discuss whether the concept of “inter-action” from a chemical viewpoint may promote parsimonious research and meta-cognitively inform applied work in psychology. Second, I comment on “structure means function” by illustrating the notion of catalysis in chemical reactions, particularly discussing how leaders may serve as “catalysts” of team processes and performance. A remark from a Nobel Laureate in chemistry follows my discussion, offering an independent analysis of the idea discussed herein. Finally, a senior sport psychology researcher and a human movement scientist share their reactions to the idea of “team chemistry through chemistry lenses”.   Inter-Action For centuries, chemists have combined various substances to create new compounds leading to a newer or more optimized process. Foremost, a chemists’ assumption is that the inter-action coupling between two or more independent agents will lead to better, more specific, or more complex chemical structure. Similar to chemists, psychologists are interested in studying interactions among behaviors, bio-psycho-social processes and neural mechanisms (Bandura, 1997; Hanin, 2007). From a meta-cognitive standpoint, psychologists could discuss team member interactions borrowing ideas from various chemical reactions described in the chemistry TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      4  literature. For instance, the principles of single displacement (A + BC → AC + B) and double displacement (AB + CD → AD + BC) could be used to study intra-team coordination in team sports. In effect, sport analysts have long debated why “star players” often perform better (e.g., greater number of assists and goals scored) when playing for their club team versus their national team. Part of the answer to this question may rest on understanding how high-performing (strong links) unique dyadic and triadic intra-team associations (e.g., Xavi↔Iniesta↔Messi in Barcelona football club) are created from the complementary skills of two or more players. Therefore, at times, rather than recruiting one star player, coaches should recruit (or focus on developing) a high-performing network of two or more players.  The notion of single and double displacement could also be used to explore the “too-much-talent-effect” (Swaab, Schaerer, Anicich, Ronay, & Galinsky, 2014), which occurs when a team comprised of stars fails to play to its potential because the individual team members do not interact in a successful manner (weak links). Altogether, borrowing ideas from chemical interactions can be useful in studying the cyclical development of team coordination and shared mental models in team sports, similar to how psychologists have used the physics notion of small-world networks to inform research on brain networks. In this regard, there is consensus that different inter-team interactions lead to the development of myriad shared declarative, procedural and strategic forms of knowledge (Mohammed, Ferzandi, & Hamilton, 2010). At the LNLM, Jean-Marie Lehn emphasized the importance of multivalent interactions in the establishment of “dynamic adaptive coordination networks” at the supramolecular level. To Lehn, it is the ability of “supramolecular species to exchange their components” that allows for the development of highly sophisticated chemical systems in general (e.g., transport systems) TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      5  and catalysis recognition in particular. Thus, could sport psychologists examine whether leaders serve as “catalysts” to improve group dynamics and performance in sport teams?   “Structure Means Function”: Catalysis Recognition and Team Performance Throughout the LNLM, the Laureates discussed how “structure means function”, particularly in regards to catalytic processes in biochemistry. Various natural catalytic processes occur through conformational changes involving two or more reactants (e.g., an enzyme and respective substrate), with distinct yet complementary structural characteristics (Green, 2012). Catalysis works by lowering the activation energy required for a given reaction to proceed. The “catalyst” provides an alternative chemical pathway for the reaction, usually by increasing the selectivity or reaction rate, or by decreasing the entropy in the system. There are also negative catalysts (i.e., inhibitors) that function to decrease the rate of a chemical reaction.  Similar to chemistry, “structure means function” can be applied to team sports. For instance, in soccer different systems and formations of play (4-3-3; 3-5-2; 5-4-1) are aimed at defensive or offensive tactical functions. The notion of an “isomer” (a molecule with the same chemical formula but that differs from another by the rotation of a single bond) from conformational analysis in chemistry could help performance analysts to explore how altering the position of a single player can significantly affect team performance. Scholars in the “soft” sciences have also borrowed the idea of catalysis when discussing the role of transformational and peer leadership in team performance (Filho, Gershgoren, Basevitch, Schinke, & Tenenbaum, 2013; Stanley et al., 2008; Venus, Stam, & van Knippenberg, 2013). Transformational leaders promote change among their followers and within their organizations. To this extent, based on the overarching notion of catalysis, Venus et al. (2013) observed that leaders’ emotional states (i.e., enthusiasm) prime followers’ regulatory focus, TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      6  which in turn generates high follower performance in regards to a shared team goal. In terms of peer leadership, sport psychologist Hanin (2007) noted that “in team sports, the major focus and concern of the coach are the emotional states of the goal-keeper and key-players (leader and sub-leaders) who affect the emotional dynamics of the entire team” (p. 37). Filho et al. (2013) also observed that peer leaders serve as “catalysts of team performance” by modeling confidence and communicating information during high-pressure situations. Overall, borrowing ideas from chemistry and other “hard” disciplines already exists in some capacity, even if at the basic conceptual level. Such exchanges of ideas and principles may continue to grow, as psychologists discuss hybrid concepts (e.g., psychogenetic, social neuroscience, DNA ancestry testing) that are made possible by mixing the “soft” and “hard” sciences.  Final Thoughts I considered writing this commentary after interacting with several scholars during the 63rd LNLM. I invited one Nobel Laureate interested in cross-domain collaboration to share his reaction and insights on the idea of studying group dynamics “through chemistry lenses”. A human movement scientist and a senior performance psychologist who have integrated principles from different fields in their research also share their reactions on the idea discussed herein. Researchers and practitioners at large are invited to reflect on whether “team chemistry” will remain a metaphorical notion or whether it may evolve to a real exchange between chemists and applied psychologists.  Reply from Harold Kroto – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry This is an interesting analysis of the significance of the word "Chemistry" which has developed a positive meaning in societal interaction apparently separate from the somewhat pejorative term "chemical" when applied to say food. In fact,  TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      7  the key creative process in chemistry is synthesis in which two or more known compounds  are brought together in a reaction to produce a new and hopefully valuable compound. A favorite example of mine is the reaction of carbon dioxide and water in a vine to produce a carbohydrate which in the presence of an enzyme results in alcohol and finale wine. Thus the term chemistry as probed in this article is a perfect term to describe the sort of  interactive intellectual environment needed to engender "Creativity" with a Capital C.  Reply from Gershon Tenenbaum – Sport Psychologist Researcher The author raises the question whether principles from chemistry can account for human behaviors in a team context. This might be the case had people been comprised of molecules which produce artificial intelligence-like actions. However, one should consider that humans (e.g., “molecular entities”) in a team do not interact with each other as chemical entities do, but rather as entities with unique personalities, bio-psycho-social needs, and sets of cultural values. Furthermore, the author mentions that leadership within a team can be viewed within a framework of a chemical catalyst, which affects the team positively or negatively. One should keep in mind that energy produced in chemical reaction may differ substantially from energy produced by human entities. Members within a team may have opposite intentions, may belong to more than one sub-group within a team, or may select more than one leader (“catalyst”) for different tasks which ought to be accomplished. These are some thoughts to consider when transposing the principles of one domain to another. Reply from Maurizio Bertollo – Human Movement Scientist Teams are often paralleled to an organism in which different parts work together for a common goal. Analyzing team dynamics through “chemistry lenses” allows us to see the leader of a team like an “enzyme” that “catalyzes” reactions of an organism. The leader, like an TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      8  enzyme, can work through anabolic (building team dynamics) and catabolic (destructing negative dynamics) pathways. For instance, if the leader is viewed as a “functional group” [e.g., carboxyl (-COOH)], s/he could eliminate (i.e., catabolism) other reactants that are not useful for the team. Overall, the idea expressed in this paper is an interesting way to study team dynamics in sport settings in respect to inter-actions and structure-function within a team. Our goal in sport sciences is to find the right pathways and catalysts to speed up reactions and inter-actions, while developing group anabolic and catabolic processes to improve team dynamics and performance.  TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      9  References Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman. Busemeyer, J. R., Wang, Z., and Townsend, J. T. (2006). Quantum dynamics of human decision-making. J Math Psychol. 50, 220-241. doi:10.1016/j.jmp.2006.01.003 Filho, E., Gershgoren, L., Basevitch, I., Schinke, R., and Tenenbaum, G. (2014). Peer leadership and shared mental models in volleyball: A longitudinal case study. J Clin Sport Psychol. 8, 184-203. doi:10.1123/jcsp.2014-0021 Gershgoren, L., Filho, E., Tenenbaum, G., and Schinke, R. (2013). Coaching shared mental models in soccer: A longitudinal case study. J Clin Sport Psychol. 7, 293-312.  Green, M. (2012). Organic chemistry principles in context. A story telling historical approach. Hanin, Y. L. (2007). Emotions in sport: Current issues and perspectives. In G. Tenenbaum & R. C. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (3th ed., pp 31-58). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Kroto, H. (2005). Art and science, can they ever be one and the same? Eur Rev. 13, 195-199. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00026303 Levine, L. (1994). Listening with spirit and the art of team dialogue. J Organ Change Manage. 7, 61-73.  Mohammed, S., Ferzandi, L., and Hamilton, K. (2010). Metaphor no more: A 15-year review of the team mental model construct. J Manage. 36, 876-910. doi:10.1177/0149206309356804  Stanley, J. M., Gannon, J., Gabuat, J., Hartranft, S., Adams, N., Mayes, C., . . . Burch, D. (2008). The clinical nurse leader: A catalyst for improving quality and patient safety. J Nurs Manage. 16, 614-622. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00899.x  TEAM CHEMISTRY THROUGH CHEMISTRY LENSES                                                      10  Swaab, R. I., Schaerer, M., Anicich, E. M., Ronay, R., and Galinsky, A. D. (2014). The too-much-talent effect: Team interdependence determines when more talent is too much or not enough. Psycholo Sci, 25, 1581-1591. doi:10.1177/0956797614537280 Venus, M., Stam, D., and van Knippenberg, D. (2013). Leader emotion as a catalyst of effective leader communication of visions, value-laden messages, and goals. Organ Behav Hum Dec. 122, 53-68. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.03.009  

"Team chemistry" through chemistry lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

Edson Filho

Frontiers - Publisher Connector

OPINION ARTICLE
published: 28 January 2015
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00038
“Team chemistry” through chemistry lenses:
interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?
Edson Filho*
Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University of Chieti, Pescara, Italy
*Correspondence: soares_medeiros@yahoo.com.br
Edited by:
Joe Baker, York University, Canada
Reviewed by:
Nick Wattie, York University, Canada
With replies by:
Harold Kroto, Florida State University, USA
Gershon Tenenbaum, Florida State University, USA
Maurizio Bertollo, University of Chieti, Italy
Keywords: sport psychology, group dynamics, team chemistry, team sports, team performance
A Google search on “team chemistry”
returns over 443,000 entries (October
2014) usually denoting some sort of
team process, such as cohesion, shared
mental models, and collective efficacy.
Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and
business managers) often emphasize the
importance of team chemistry for optimal
performance. For instance, former NFL
quarterback and current business execu-
tive Roger Staubach noted that “In any
team sport, the best teams have consis-
tency and chemistry.” Researchers in per-
formance psychology also allude to the
notion of “team chemistry” when dis-
cussing exceptional teams (Levine, 1994;
Gershgoren et al., 2013).
Although practitioners and researchers
refer to team chemistry as an antecedent
of team expertise, there has been neither
philosophical nor conceptual debate on
whether chemistry principles may indeed
inform performance and sport psychology
research and practice. Therefore, the ques-
tion that motivates me to write this com-
mentary paper is: “What if scholars would
indeed seek inspiration inmicroscopic chem-
istry principles in order to better under-
stand macroscopic team dynamics?” Of
note, mixing “soft” and “hard” sciences
is common in the pursuit of inter-
disciplinary research. Applied philoso-
phers and psychologists have long tried
to establish connections between group
processes and the natural world (i.e.,
“Associationist School”). Recently, psy-
chologists have employed concepts from
physics, including quantum theory, to
study decision-making in social contexts
(Busemeyer et al., 2006). Specific to chem-
istry, Green (2012) uses history to discuss
fundamental organic chemistry principles,
while Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto (2005)
wrote about how art and design inspired
his research on chemistry.
Although I do not have a “set-in-
stone” response to the question I propose
herein, I open debate and share insights
on whether, and how, general chemistry
concepts may be useful to performance
and sport psychologists interested in team
dynamics. Specifically, I comment on
two overarching chemistry concepts that
emerged in several Nobel Laureates’ pre-
sentations during the 63rd Lindau Nobel
Laureate Meeting (LNLM) in chemistry.
During this week-long scientific gather-
ing 34 Laureates discussed how chemistry
(and its disciplines, such as organic, inor-
ganic, and biochemistry) has been used
to inform research and practice in vari-
ous domains of human interest including
social matters such as education and poli-
tics. First, I discuss whether the concept of
“inter-action” from a chemical viewpoint
may promote parsimonious research and
meta-cognitively inform applied work in
psychology. Second, I comment on “struc-
ture means function” by illustrating the
notion of catalysis in chemical reactions,
particularly discussing how leaders may
serve as “catalysts” of team processes
and performance. A remark from a
Nobel Laureate in chemistry follows my
discussion, offering an independent anal-
ysis of the idea discussed herein. Finally,
a senior sport psychology researcher and
a human movement scientist share their
reactions to the idea of “team chemistry
through chemistry lenses.”
INTER-ACTION
For centuries, chemists have combined
various substances to create new com-
pounds leading to a newer or more
optimized process. Foremost, a chemists’
assumption is that the inter-action cou-
pling between two or more independent
agents will lead to better, more specific, or
more complex chemical structure. Similar
to chemists, psychologists are interested
in studying interactions among behav-
iors, bio-psycho-social processes, and neu-
ral mechanisms (Bandura, 1997; Hanin,
2007). From a meta-cognitive standpoint,
psychologists could discuss team mem-
ber interactions borrowing ideas from
various chemical reactions described in
the chemistry literature. For instance, the
principles of single displacement (A +
BC → AC + B) and double displace-
ment (AB + CD → AD + BC) could
be used to study intra-team coordination
in team sports. In effect, sport analysts
have long debated why “star players” often
perform better (e.g., greater number of
assists and goals scored) when playing
for their club team versus their national
team. Part of the answer to this ques-
tion may rest on understanding how high-
performing (strong links) unique dyadic
www.frontiersin.org January 2015 | Volume 6 | Article 38 | 1
Filho Team chemistry through chemistry lenses
and triadic intra-team associations (e.g.,
Xavi↔Iniesta↔Messi in Barcelona foot-
ball club) are created from the comple-
mentary skills of two or more players.
Therefore, at times, rather than recruiting
one star player, coaches should recruit (or
focus on developing) a high-performing
network of two or more players.
The notion of single and double dis-
placement could also be used to explore
the “too-much-talent-effect” (Swaab
et al., 2014), which occurs when a team
comprised of stars fails to play to its poten-
tial because the individual team members
do not interact in a successful manner
(weak links). Altogether, borrowing ideas
from chemical interactions can be use-
ful in studying the cyclical development
of team coordination and shared mental
models in team sports, similar to how psy-
chologists have used the physics notion of
small-world networks to inform research
on brain networks. In this regard, there is
consensus that different inter-team inter-
actions lead to the development of myriad
shared declarative, procedural and strate-
gic forms of knowledge (Mohammed
et al., 2010). At the LNLM, Jean-Marie
Lehn emphasized the importance of mul-
tivalent interactions in the establishment
of “dynamic adaptive coordination net-
works” at the supramolecular level. To
Lehn, it is the ability of “supramolecular
species to exchange their components”
that allows for the development of highly
sophisticated chemical systems in gen-
eral (e.g., transport systems) and catalysis
recognition in particular. Thus, could
sport psychologists examine whether
leaders serve as “catalysts” to improve
group dynamics and performance in sport
teams?
“STRUCTURE MEANS FUNCTION”:
CATALYSIS RECOGNITION AND TEAM
PERFORMANCE
Throughout the LNLM, the Laureates dis-
cussed how “structure means function,”
particularly in regards to catalytic pro-
cesses in biochemistry. Various natural
catalytic processes occur through confor-
mational changes involving two or more
reactants (e.g., an enzyme and respec-
tive substrate), with distinct yet comple-
mentary structural characteristics (Green,
2012). Catalysis works by lowering the
activation energy required for a given
reaction to proceed. The “catalyst” pro-
vides an alternative chemical pathway for
the reaction, usually by increasing the
selectivity or reaction rate, or by decreas-
ing the entropy in the system. There are
also negative catalysts (i.e., inhibitors) that
function to decrease the rate of a chemical
reaction.
Similar to chemistry, “structure means
function” can be applied to team sports.
For instance, in soccer different systems
and formations of play (4-3-3; 3-5-2; 5-
4-1) are aimed at defensive or offen-
sive tactical functions. The notion of
an “isomer” (a molecule with the same
chemical formula but that differs from
another by the rotation of a single bond)
from conformational analysis in chem-
istry could help performance analysts to
explore how altering the position of a
single player can significantly affect team
performance.
Scholars in the “soft” sciences have
also borrowed the idea of catalysis when
discussing the role of transformational
and peer leadership in team performance
(Stanley et al., 2008; Venus et al., 2013;
Filho et al., 2014). Transformational lead-
ers promote change among their follow-
ers and within their organizations. To this
extent, based on the overarching notion
of catalysis, Venus et al. (2013) observed
that leaders’ emotional states (i.e., enthu-
siasm) prime followers’ regulatory focus,
which in turn generates high follower per-
formance in regards to a shared team
goal. In terms of peer leadership, sport
psychologist Hanin (2007) noted that “in
team sports, the major focus and con-
cern of the coach are the emotional states
of the goal-keeper and key-players (leader
and sub-leaders) who affect the emotional
dynamics of the entire team” (p. 37). Filho
et al. (2014) also observed that peer leaders
serve as “catalysts of team performance”
by modeling confidence and communi-
cating information during high-pressure
situations. Overall, borrowing ideas from
chemistry and other “hard” disciplines
already exists in some capacity, even if at
the basic conceptual level. Such exchanges
of ideas and principles may continue to
grow, as psychologists discuss hybrid con-
cepts (e.g., psychogenetic, social neuro-
science, DNA ancestry testing) that are
made possible by mixing the “soft” and
“hard” sciences.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I considered writing this commentary after
interacting with several scholars during
the 63rd LNLM. I invited one Nobel
Laureate interested in cross-domain col-
laboration to share his reaction and
insights on the idea of studying group
dynamics “through chemistry lenses.” A
senior sport psychologist and a human
movement scientist who have integrated
principles from different fields in their
research also share their reactions on the
idea discussed herein. Researchers and
practitioners at large are invited to reflect
on whether “team chemistry” will remain
a metaphorical notion or whether it may
evolve to a real exchange between chemists
and applied psychologists.
REPLY FROM HAROLD KROTO—NOBEL
LAUREATE IN CHEMISTRY
This is an interesting analysis of the sig-
nificance of the word “Chemistry” which
has developed a positive meaning in soci-
etal interaction apparently separate from
the somewhat pejorative term “chemical”
when applied to say food. In fact, the key
creative process in chemistry is synthesis in
which two or more known compounds are
brought together in a reaction to produce
a new and hopefully valuable compound.
A favorite example of mine is the reac-
tion of carbon dioxide and water in a vine
to produce a carbohydrate which in the
presence of an enzyme results in alcohol
and finale wine. Thus the term chemistry
as probed in this article is a perfect term
to describe the sort of interactive intel-
lectual environment needed to engender
“Creativity” with a Capital C.
REPLY FROM GERSHON
TENENBAUM—SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST
RESEARCHER
The author raises the question whether
principles from chemistry can account for
human behaviors in a team context. This
might be the case had people been com-
prised of molecules which produce arti-
ficial intelligence-like actions. However,
one should consider that humans (e.g.,
“molecular entities”) in a team do not
interact with each other as chemical enti-
ties do, but rather as entities with unique
personalities, bio-psycho-social needs, and
sets of cultural values. Furthermore, the
author mentions that leadership within a
Frontiers in Psychology | Movement Science and Sport Psychology January 2015 | Volume 6 | Article 38 | 2
Filho Team chemistry through chemistry lenses
team can be viewed within a framework
of a chemical catalyst, which affects the
team positively or negatively. One should
keep in mind that energy produced in
chemical reaction may differ substantially
from energy produced by human enti-
ties. Members within a team may have
opposite intentions, may belong to more
than one sub-group within a team, or
may select more than one leader (“cata-
lyst”) for different tasks which ought to be
accomplished. These are some thoughts to
consider when transposing the principles
of one domain to another.
REPLY FROMMAURIZIO
BERTOLLO—HUMANMOVEMENT
SCIENTIST
Teams are often paralleled to an organism
in which different parts work together for
a common goal. Analyzing team dynam-
ics through “chemistry lenses” allows us to
see the leader of a team like an “enzyme”
that “catalyzes” reactions of an organ-
ism. The leader, like an enzyme, can work
through anabolic (building team dynam-
ics) and catabolic (destructing negative
dynamics) pathways. For instance, if the
leader is viewed as a “functional group”
[e.g., carboxyl (-COOH)], s/he could elim-
inate (i.e., catabolism) other reactants that
are not useful for the team. Overall, the
idea expressed in this paper is an inter-
esting way to study team dynamics in
sport settings in respect to inter-actions
and structure-function within a team. Our
goal in sport sciences is to find the right
pathways and catalysts to speed up reac-
tions and inter-actions, while developing
group anabolic and catabolic processes to
improve team dynamics and performance.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to express his grati-
tude to distinguished scholars Dr. Harold
Kroto, Dr. Gershon Tenenbaum, and Dr.
Maurizio Bertollo for their contributions
to this paper.
REFERENCES
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of
Control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.
Busemeyer, J. R., Wang, Z., and Townsend, J. T.
(2006). Quantum dynamics of human decision-
making. J. Math. Psychol. 50, 220–241. doi:
10.1016/j.jmp.2006.01.003
Filho, E., Gershgoren, L., Basevitch, I., Schinke, R.,
and Tenenbaum, G. (2014). Peer leadership and
shared mental models in volleyball: a longitudinal
case study. J. Clin. Sport Psychol. 8, 184–203. doi:
10.1123/jcsp.2014-0021
Gershgoren, L., Filho, E., Tenenbaum, G., and
Schinke, R. (2013). Coaching shared mental mod-
els in soccer: a longitudinal case study. J. Clin. Sport
Psychol. 7, 293–312.
Green, M. (2012). Organic Chemistry Principles
in Context. A Story Telling Historical Approach.
New York, NY: Science from Away Publishing
Hanin, Y. L. (2007). “Emotions in sport: current issues
and perspectives,” inHandbook of Sport Psychology,
3th Edn., eds G. Tenenbaum and R. C. Eklund
(Hoboken, NJ: Wiley), 31–58.
Kroto, H. (2005). Art and science, can they ever be
one and the same? Eur. Rev. 13, 195–199. doi:
10.1017/S0140525X00026303
Levine, L. (1994). Listening with spirit and the art of
team dialogue. J. Organ. Change Manage. 7, 61–73.
Mohammed, S., Ferzandi, L., and Hamilton, K.
(2010). Metaphor no more: a 15-year review of
the team mental model construct. J. Manage. 36,
876–910. doi: 10.1177/0149206309356804
Stanley, J. M., Gannon, J., Gabuat, J., Hartranft, S.,
Adams, N., Mayes, C., et al. (2008). The clinical
nurse leader: a catalyst for improving quality and
patient safety. J. Nurs. Manage. 16, 614–622. doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00899.x
Swaab, R. I., Schaerer, M., Anicich, E. M., Ronay,
R., and Galinsky, A. D. (2014). The too-
much-talent effect: team interdependence
determines when more talent is too much or
not enough. Psychol. Sci. 25, 1581–1591. doi:
10.1177/0956797614537280
Venus, M., Stam, D., and van Knippenberg, D.
(2013). Leader emotion as a catalyst of effective
leader communication of visions, value-laden
messages, and goals. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis.
Process 122, 53–68. doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.
03.009
Conflict of Interest Statement: The author declares
that the research was conducted in the absence of any
commercial or financial relationships that could be
construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Received: 11 November 2014; paper pending pub-
lished: 24 November 2014; accepted: 08 January 2015;
published online: 28 January 2015.
Citation: Filho E (2015) “Team chemistry” through
chemistry lenses: interdisciplinary science or a
metaphorical conundrum? Front. Psychol. 6:38.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00038
This article was submitted to Movement Science and
Sport Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in
Psychology.
Copyright © 2015 Filho. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or
reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the
original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the
original publication in this journal is cited, in accor-
dance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribu-
tion or reproduction is permitted which does not comply
with these terms.
www.frontiersin.org January 2015 | Volume 6 | Article 38 | 3


â€œTeam chemistryâ€ through chemistry lenses: interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

Edson eFilho

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Frontiers in Psychology

Team Chemistry through Chemistry Lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00038

"Team chemistry" through chemistry lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

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