Active learning: Effects of core training design elements on self-regulatory processes, learning, and adaptability.

This article describes a comprehensive examination of the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes underlying active learning approaches; their effects on learning and transfer; and the core training design elements (exploration, training frame, emotion control) and individual differences (cognitive ability, trait goal orientation, trait anxiety) that shape these processes. Participants (N = 350) were trained to operate a complex, computer-based simulation. Exploratory learning and error-encouragement framing had a positive effect on adaptive transfer performance and interacted with cognitive ability and dispositional goal orientation to influence trainees' metacognition and state goal orientation. Trainees who received the emotion-control strategy had lower levels of state anxiety. Implications for development of an integrated theory of active learning, learner-centered design, and research extensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a method of self-supervision for counselor trainees.

The authors tested the application of self-regulation and goal theory to self-supervision using a replicated, randomized multiple baseline (MBL) design. Specifically, 4 female novice counselor trainees were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 MBL conditions (self-supervision targeting the use of metaphor first and then empathy, self-supervision targeting empathy and then metaphor, or an attention placebo control) to test the effects of self-supervision on trainees' use of empathy and metaphor across counseling sessions. Although trainees significantly increased their use of metaphor after receiving self-supervision training, no significant effects were found for self-supervision targeting empathy. Tentative conclusions include that self-supervision appears viable with some limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frame-of-reference training effectiveness: Effects of goal orientation and self-efficacy on affective, cognitive, skill-based, and transfer outcomes.

Empirical evidence supporting frame-of-reference (FOR) training as an effective intervention for calibrating raters is convincing. Yet very little is known about who does better or worse in FOR training. We conducted a field study of how motivational factors influence affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning outcomes, as well as near transfer indexed by achieving professional certification. Relying on goal orientation theory, we hypothesized effects for 3 goal orientations: learning, prove performance, and avoid performance. Results were generally supportive across learning outcomes and transfer. Findings further supported a hypothesized interaction between learning self-efficacy and avoid performance goal orientation, such that higher levels of learning self-efficacy mitigated the negative effects of higher performance avoid tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power to the people: Using learner control to improve trainee reactions and learning in web-based instructional environments.

This experimental study investigated the mechanisms by which learner control influences learning in an e-learning environment. The authors hypothesized that learner control would enhance learning indirectly through its effect on trainee reactions and learner engagement (in particular, off-task attention), such that learners who were more satisfied with the training and devoted more cognitive resources toward the instructional content versus off-task thoughts would possess greater posttraining knowledge. The study also examined the role of individual differences (training motivation and goal orientation) in the prediction of these 2 mediating variables. A sample of 274 undergraduates completed an e-learning program, either with or without interactive, learner control tools. Results suggest that both training satisfaction and off-task attention predicted subsequent learning. Learner control had a positive impact on training satisfaction but was not related to off-task attention. The individual difference variables had a differential impact on the mediating variables. In particular, performance orientation was linked to off-task attention, whereas mastery orientation was found to indirectly influence satisfaction via its direct effect on training motivation. Implications for the design and further study of e-learning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working-memory capacity and the control of attention: The contributions of goal neglect, response competition, and task set to Stroop interference.

Individual differences in working-memory (WM) capacity predicted performance on the Stroop task in 5 experiments, indicating the importance of executive control and goal maintenance to selective attention. When the Stroop task encouraged goal neglect by including large numbers of congruent trials (RED presented in red), low WM individuals committed more errors than did high WM individuals on the rare incongruent trials (BLUE in red) that required maintaining access to the "ignore-the-word" goal for accurate responding. In contrast, in tasks with no or few congruent trials, or in high-congruency tasks that followed low-congruency tasks, WM predicted response-time interference. WM was related to latency, not accuracy, in contexts that reinforced the task goal and so minimized the difficulty of actively maintaining it. The data and a literature review suggest that Stroop interference is jointly determined by 2 mechanisms, goal maintenance and competition resolution, and that the dominance of each depends on WM capacity, as well as the task set induced by current and previous contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task Interest and Actual Performance: The Moderating Effects of Assigned and Adopted Purpose Goals.

This research examined whether and which purpose goals moderate the relationship between task interest and actual performance and whether assigned goals have different effects (Study 1) than adopted goals (Study 2). Two studies were conducted using a full 2 X 2 design of the performance-mastery and approach-avoidance distinctions, plus control conditions. In the control conditions, that is, in a neutral purpose goal context, the expected positive relationship between initial task interest and actual performance was found. In a purpose goal context, this link held only for a congruent mastery-approach goal (either assigned or adopted). The gain in task interest found in a neutral purpose context was observed in the purpose goal conditions only when participants attained their purpose goals. It was concluded that having an incongruent purpose goal may undermine the positive effect of prior task interest on actual performance as well as on subsequent task interest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory performance and beliefs as a function of goal setting and aging.

This research examined the impact of goals on memory and memory beliefs. Older and younger adults completed memory beliefs questionnaires and list recall at baseline. After additional recall trials, the questionnaires were repeated. In Experiment 1, participants were assigned to low challenge or high challenge goals. In Experiment 2, moderate challenge goals were compared to control. In both studies, participants were given a specific goal based on their own performance and received positive feedback for memory gains. Both older and younger adults responded to the goals, showing improved performance across trials, with little change in the control condition. Memory beliefs changed in the moderate and low challenge goal conditions, showing more striking changes for the older groups. These results confirmed that self-regulatory processes related to goal setting can have considerable impact on memory across the adult life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of goal orientation on job search and reemployment: A field experiment among unemployed job seekers.

Because unemployment has detrimental effects on the well-being of unemployed people, it is important that unemployed individuals move back to work. The present study aimed at improving the understanding of the job search and reemployment process by applying goal orientation theory to job seeking. Using a 3-group field experimental design among 109 unemployed job seekers, the authors examined the effects of situational learning and performance goal orientation on participants’ job search intentions, job search behavior, and reemployment status. A situational focus on learning goals was found to be beneficial for the job search process, leading to more search intentions, more search behavior, and higher reemployment probabilities. These effects seemed to be independent of people’s dispositional goal orientation. Findings indicate that goal orientation is a promising construct for both science and practice in the field of job seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences among supervisees at different levels of training: Implications for a developmental model of supervision.

Three studies examined differences across 3 counselor trainee levels (beginning practicum, advanced practicum, and doctoral interns) with regard to (a) the interpersonal influence process between the supervisor and supervisee (Study 1), (b) trainees' perceptions of specific supervisor behaviors contributing to supervisory effectiveness (Study 2), and (c) trainees' perceptions of the most important or critical incidents that occur within supervision during a semester (Study 3). Ss were 58 beginning practicum students, 51 advanced practicum students, and 36 doctoral interns. Overall results are congruent with a developmental model of supervision and suggest that across trainee levels, variables related to the interpersonal influence process differ; different types of supervisor behaviors appear to be effective at different levels of supervision; and different types of critical incidents are reported within the supervision process. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual Search for Object Orientation Can Be Modulated by Canonical Orientation.

The authors studied the influence of canonical orientation on visual search for object orientation. Displays consisted of pictures of animals whose axis of elongation was either vertical or tilted in their canonical orientation. Target orientation could be either congruent or incongruent with the object's canonical orientation. In Experiment 1, vertical canonical targets were detected faster when they were tilted (incongruent) than when they were vertical (congruent). This search asymmetry was reversed for tilted canonical targets. The effect of canonical orientation was partially preserved when objects were high-pass filtered, but it was eliminated when they were low-pass filtered, rendering them as unfamiliar shapes (Experiment 2). The effect of canonical orientation was also eliminated by inverting the objects (Experiment 3) and in a patient with visual agnosia (Experiment 4). These results indicate that orientation search with familiar objects can be modulated by canonical orientation, and they indicate a top-down influence on orientation processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processes underlying congruent and incongruent facial reactions to emotional facial expressions.

The present electromyographic study is a first step toward shedding light on the involvement of affective processes in congruent and incongruent facial reactions to facial expressions. Further, empathy was investigated as a potential mediator underlying the modulation of facial reactions to emotional faces in a competitive, a cooperative, and a neutral setting. Results revealed less congruent reactions to happy expressions and even incongruent reactions to sad and angry expressions in the competition condition, whereas virtually no differences between the neutral and the cooperation condition occurred. Effects on congruent reactions were found to be mediated by cognitive empathy, indicating that the state of empathy plays an important role in the situational modulation of congruent reactions. Further, incongruent reactions to sad and angry faces in a competition setting were mediated by the emotional reaction of joy, supporting the assumption that incongruent facial reactions are mainly based on affective processes. Additionally, strategic processes (specifically, the goal to create and maintain a smooth, harmonious interaction) were found to influence facial reactions while being in a cooperative mindset. Now, further studies are needed to test for the generalizability of these effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Meta-Analytic Review of Behavior Modeling Training.

A meta-analysis of 117 studies evaluated the effects of behavior modeling training (BMT) on 6 training outcomes, across characteristics of training design. BMT effects were largest for learning outcomes, smaller for job behavior, and smaller still for results outcomes. Although BMT effects on declarative knowledge decayed over time, training effects on skills and job behavior remained stable or even increased. Skill development was greatest when learning points were used and presented as rule codes and when training time was longest. Transfer was greatest when mixed (negative and positive) models were presented, when practice included trainee-generated scenarios, when trainees were instructed to set goals, when trainees' superiors were also trained, and when rewards and sanctions were instituted in trainees' work environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisition.

Two central constructs of applied psychology, motivation and cognitive ability, were integrated within an information-processing (IPR) framework. This framework simultaneously considers individual differences in cognitive abilities, self-regulatory processes of motivation, and IPR demands. Evidence for the framework is provided in the context of skill acquisition, in which IPR and ability demands change as a function of practice, training paradigm, and timing of goal setting (GS). Three field-based lab experiments were conducted with 1,010 US Air Force trainees. Exp 1 evaluated the basic ability–performance parameters of the air traffic controller task and GS effects early in practice. Exp 2 evaluated GS later in practice. Exp 3 investigated the simultaneous effects of training content, GS and ability–performance interactions. Results support the theoretical framework and have implications for notions of ability–motivation interactions and design of training and motivation programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal orientations and performance: Differential relationships across levels of analysis and as a function of task demands.

Goal orientation and self-regulation theories were integrated to develop a multilevel framework aimed at addressing controversies regarding the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance. In Study 1, goal orientations were measured repeatedly whilst individuals performed an air traffic control task. In Study 2, goal orientations and exam performance were measured across 3 time points while undergraduates completed a course. Mastery-approach orientation was positively related to performance at the intraindividual level, but not at the interindividual level, and its effect was not moderated by task demands. Performance-approach positively predicted performance at the interindividual level, and at the intraindividual level, the direction of its effect switched as a function of task demands. Performance-avoid negatively predicted performance at the interindividual level but did not emerge as an intraindividual predictor. Mastery-avoid did not relate to performance at either level of analysis. This consistent pattern across 2 studies suggests that levels of analysis and task demands can determine the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance and highlights avenues for theory development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the regulation of cognitive control: Action orientation moderates the impact of high demands in Stroop interference tasks.

Previous research has established that people vary in action orientation, a tendency toward decisiveness and initiative, versus state orientation, a tendency toward indecisiveness and hesitation (J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann, 1994b). In the present 3 studies, the authors examined whether action orientation versus state orientation regulates cognitive control under demanding conditions. Under high demands, action-oriented participants displayed better cognitive control than did state-oriented participants in a Stroop color naming task (Studies 1-3). No similar effects were found under low demands (Studies 2-3). Functional differences between action- and state-oriented participants emerged especially when the task included a high proportion of congruent Stroop trials (Study 3). These findings suggest that action-oriented individuals are better protected against goal neglect than are state-oriented individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-Regulation: From Goal Orientation to Job Performance.

The authors investigated the effects on job performance of 3 forms of goal orientation and 4 self-regulation (SR) tactics. In a longitudinal field study with salespeople, learning and performance-prove goal orientation predicted subsequent sales performance, whereas performance-avoid goal orientation negatively predicted sales performance. The SR tactics functioned as mediating variables between learning and performance-prove goal orientations and performance. Social competence and proactive behavior directly and positively predicted sales performance, and emotional control negatively predicted performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of management training from alternative perspectives.

One hundred seven management training evaluations were meta-analyzed to compare effect sizes for the transfer of managerial training derived from different rating sources (self, superior, peer, and subordinate) and broken down by both study- and training-related variables. For studies as a whole, and interpersonal management skills training studies in particular, transfer effects based on trainees' self-ratings, and to a lesser extent ratings from their superiors, were largest and most varied across studies. In contrast, transfer effects based on peer ratings, and particularly subordinate ratings, were substantially smaller and more homogeneous. This pattern was consistent across different sources of studies, features of evaluation design, and within a subset of 14 studies that each included all 4 rating sources. Across most rating sources, transfer of training was greatest for studies conducted in nonmilitary settings, when raters were likely to have known whether the manager being rated had attended training, when criteria were targeted to training content, when training content was derived from an analysis of tasks and skill requirements, and when training included opportunities for practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic examination of the goal orientation nomological net.

The authors present an empirical review of the literature concerning trait and state goal orientation (GO). Three dimensions of GO were examined: learning, prove performance, and avoid performance along with presumed antecedents and proximal and distal consequences of these dimensions. Antecedent variables included cognitive ability, implicit theory of intelligence, need for achievement, self-esteem, general self-efficacy, and the Big Five personality characteristics. Proximal consequences included state GO, task-specific self-efficacy, self-set goal level, learning strategies, feedback seeking, and state anxiety. Distal consequences included learning, academic performance, task performance, and job performance. Generally speaking, learning GO was positively correlated, avoid performance GO was negatively correlated, and prove performance GO was uncorrelated with these variables. Consistent with theory, state GO tended to have stronger relationships with the distal consequences than did trait GO. Finally, using a meta-correlation matrix, the authors found that trait GO predicted job performance above and beyond cognitive ability and personality. These results demonstrate the value of GO to organizational researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sometimes you need a reminder: The effects of prompting self-regulation on regulatory processes, learning, and attrition.

Prompting self-regulation involves asking trainees reflective questions to stimulate self-regulatory engagement. Research has found positive effects for prompting self-regulation on learning, but a scarcity of evidence exists regarding whether self-regulatory processes mediate the effect of prompting self-regulation, whether the intervention reduces attrition, and the optimal timing of implementing the intervention. Using a longitudinal design, we found that prompting self-regulation throughout training increased learning and reduced attrition, relative to the control condition. Moreover, the effect on learning was fully mediated by time on task. The intervention also moderated the effect of learning on subsequent self-regulatory activity and attrition. Learning performance had less of a positive effect on subsequent self-regulatory activity and less of a negative effect on subsequent attrition when trainees were prompted to self-regulate. These results highlight the importance of adopting a longitudinal design to examine how self-regulatory interventions affect the cyclical relationships among self-regulatory processes, learning, and attrition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interactive effects of listwide control, item-based control, and working memory capacity on Stroop performance.

Hypothesized top-down and bottom-up mechanisms of control within conflict-rich environments were examined by presenting participants with a Stroop task in which specific words were usually presented in either congruent or incongruent colors. Incongruent colors were either frequently (high contingency) or infrequently (low contingency) paired with the word. These items were embedded within lists consisting of either 100% congruent or 100% incongruent filler items to create mostly congruent or mostly incongruent lists. Results indicated a significant item-specific congruency effect, which was largest for high contingency responses and within mostly congruent lists. In addition, a significant listwide congruency effect was obtained, and this interacted with working memory capacity (WMC). There were larger listwide congruency effects for low WMC individuals. Finally, the pattern of Stroop interference across lists for low WMC individuals was dependent upon the congruency of the preceding trial. These results support multiple forms of cognitive control, as well as contingency learning, as mechanisms underlying proportion congruence effects in Stroop and other conflict tasks. These findings are interpreted within Braver, Gray, and Burgess's (2007) dual mechanisms of control theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)