Examining temporal regularity in categorical team communication using Sample Entropy

Communication is inherent to team coordination and performance. Nonlinear time-series measures, such as Sample Entropy (SEn), provide the opportunity to examine the temporal structure of team communication. The aim for this experiment was to develop a method for applying SEn to a set of categorically coded and sequential team verbal communications recorded during a dyadic Air Battle Management (ABM) simulation. Results showed that deterministic temporal regularity was detected in team communication for three categorical coding schemes applied to the data - team role, semantic content, and combined. For data coded for semantic content, SEn was able to detect an increase in communication temporal regularity for teams exposed to high workload. Practical and theoretical implications are considered.