Knowledge that Transforms

This study examined the effects of having experienced negative events related to the purpose ofa training program on learning and retention. Participants were 32 private pilots who participated in an assertiveness-training study. The purpose of the training was to prevent aviation accidents caused by human error. Structured telephone interviews were conducted to determine whether participants had previously experienced 3 types of negative events related to the purpose of training. Results indicated a linear relationship between these negative events and assertive performance in a behavioral exercise 1 week after training. The same negative events, however, were not significantly related to the performance of untrained participants in the same behavioral exercise. It is suggested that previous experiences influenced posttraining performance by increasing motivation to learn.

Researchers studied 162 male undergraduates in an experiment designed to investigate how the experience of unfair treatment affects the reactions of nonbeneficiaries of sex-based preferential selection in terms of responses to the work task, characterizations of the woman beneficiary, and prosocial orientation to the work setting. The basis of selection (merit or preference), the comparative ability of the participant and the selectee (superior, inferior, equal, or unknown) and the presence or absence of one type of explanatory justification for the selection decision (an ideological account) were systematically varied. Results indicated that preferential selection can produce negative reactions on the part of nonbeneficiaries. However, reactions to preferential selection were not always uniform, and procedural and distributive aspects of unfairness concerns were found to have consequences for different types of nonbeneficiary reactions. In addition, the mitigating effects of the ideological account were found to be limited to situations in which the beneficiary and nonbeneficiary were believed to be equally qualified.

Three approaches to computer training (behavior modeling, self-paced study, and lecturing) and a no-training control condition were compared concerning their relative performance across an array of evaluation measures in a field experiment. Learning theories of K. Lewin (1951) and D. A. Kolb ( 1984) were used to provide theoretical bases for the training approaches and the measures of learning. Trainees were 160 novice computer users from the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion at Gulfport, Mississippi. Measures of cognitive learning and skill demonstration were highest for behavior modeling, followed by the self-paced condition. Results were similar for measures collected immediately after training and 1 month after training. Satisfaction with the computer system 1 month after training was also highest for behavior modeling. Implications are discussed, especially those pertaining to transfer of cognitive and skill-based learning.

This study explored the possibility that cognitive complexity can account for differences in the number of perceived dimensions with which individuals conceptualize pay satisfaction, as measured by the Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire. Using 2 independent samples of 1,969 certified teachers, it was found that mean group differences in cognitive complexity may account for the differences previously found in the literature. It was suggested that additional basic research be performed on how individuals conceptualize pay satisfaction and that more useful measures of cognitive complexity be developed.

Research conducted largely in medical and clinical settings suggests that receiving preparatory information prior to a stressful event can reduce negative responses to stress. Although results within this domain have been promising, little research has examined the efficacy of preparatory information on enhancing performance in a more applied task environment. This study examined the effect of preparatory information on reducing stress reactions and enhancing performance on a realistic decision-making task. Results indicated that those who received preparatory information prior to performing under high-stress conditions reported less anxiety, were more confident in their ability to perform the task, and made fewer performance errors than those who received no preparatory information.

The effects of mental countermeasures on the efficiency of psychophysiological detection with the Guilty Knowledge Technique were examined in a mock-crime experiment with 4 groups of participants: innocent participants who were not involved in the mock crime, guilty controls who committed the mock crime but received no countermeasure instructions, and guilty participants who received countermeasure instructions, and guilty participants who received countermeasure instructions and were allowed to practice the countermeasures. The countermeasure instructions encouraged participants to recall emotional situations from their past and imagine themselves in these situations during presentation of irrelevant questions. Results revealed a significant reduction in electrodermal detection efficiency under the 2 countermeasure conditions with no differences between them. No countermeasures effects were observed with the respiration line length measure.