Changes in affect during the pursuit of performance goals.

The aim of this article is to examine how affect changes when people are pursuing performance goals. We do this using the circumplex model of affect, in which a person's current affective state is represented as a point on a plane defined by the latent dimensions of pleasure and activation. We test competing hypotheses regarding the direction of changes within this 2-dimensional space. The first set of hypotheses are derived from Carver and Scheier's (1998) theory of self-regulation, which predicts that changes in the prospects of goal attainment should produce changes along axes offset 45° from the pleasure and activation dimensions. The second set of hypotheses are derived from the concept of core affect (Russell, 2003), which predicts that changes in the prospects of goal attainment should produce changes in pleasure, while changes in task demands should produce changes in activation. Two studies are reported in which participants provided ratings of momentary affect during goal pursuit. We developed a latent change model to estimate the direction and magnitude of changes in affect attributable to changes in the prospects of goal attainment and task demand. The results are more consistent with the hypotheses derived from the core affect account than with the hypotheses derived from the Carver and Scheier account. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, with a focus on prospects for the development of an integrative theory, which accounts for both the motivational and affective components of goal pursuit. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of motor task precision on pupil diameter.

It is well established that an increase in cognitive task demands is associated with increased pupil diameter. However, the effect of increased motor task demands on pupil diameter is less clear. Previous research indicates that higher motor task complexity increases pupil diameter but suggests that higher motor task precision demands may decrease pupil diameter during task movement. The current study investigated the effect of increased motor task precision on pupil diameter using a Fitts' Law movement task to manipulate motor response precision. Increased precision demands were associated with reduced pupil diameter during the response preparation and response execution phases of the movement trials. This result has implications for the interpretation of pupil diameter as an index of workload during tasks which involve precise motor movements.

An integrative formal model of motivation and decision making: The MGPM*.

We develop and test an integrative formal model of motivation and decision making. The model, referred to as the extended multiple-goal pursuit model (MGPM*), is an integration of the multiple-goal pursuit model (Vancouver, Weinhardt, & Schmidt, 2010) and decision field theory (Busemeyer & Townsend, 1993). Simulations of the model generated predictions regarding the effects of goal type (approach vs. avoidance), risk, and time sensitivity on prioritization. We tested these predictions in an experiment in which participants pursued different combinations of approach and avoidance goals under different levels of risk. The empirical results were consistent with the predictions of the MGPM*. Specifically, participants pursuing 1 approach and 1 avoidance goal shifted priority from the approach to the avoidance goal over time. Among participants pursuing 2 approach goals, those with low time sensitivity prioritized the goal with the larger discrepancy, whereas those with high time sensitivity prioritized the goal with the smaller discrepancy. Participants pursuing 2 avoidance goals generally prioritized the goal with the smaller discrepancy. Finally, all of these effects became weaker as the level of risk increased. We used quantitative model comparison to show that the MGPM* explained the data better than the original multiple-goal pursuit model, and that the major extensions from the original model were justified. The MGPM* represents a step forward in the development of a general theory of decision making during multiple-goal pursuit. (PsycINFO Database Record

Departures from optimality when pursuing multiple approach or avoidance goals.

This article examines how people depart from optimality during multiple-goal pursuit. The authors operationalized optimality using dynamic programming, which is a mathematical model used to calculate expected value in multistage decisions. Drawing on prospect theory, they predicted that people are risk-averse when pursuing approach goals and are therefore more likely to prioritize the goal in the best position than the dynamic programming model suggests is optimal. The authors predicted that people are risk-seeking when pursuing avoidance goals and are therefore more likely to prioritize the goal in the worst position than is optimal. These predictions were supported by results from an experimental paradigm in which participants made a series of prioritization decisions while pursuing either 2 approach or 2 avoidance goals. This research demonstrates the usefulness of using decision-making theories and normative models to understand multiple-goal pursuit. (PsycINFO Database Record

It is worse when you do it: Examining the interactive effects of coworker presenteeism and demographic similarity.

Presenteeism (showing up for work while sick) is detrimental for employee productivity, yet little is known about its impact on coworkers. Presenteeism may be particularly important when considering coworker reactions that may depend on how similar the sick person is to the coworker. The black sheep hypothesis suggests that the detrimental effects of coworker presenteeism on emotional and behavioral reactions will be exacerbated when there is greater demographic similarity to the perpetrator because the violation of norms of reciprocity, empathy, and concern for others' well-being reflects negatively on one's in-group. We tested the black sheep hypothesis in 2 samples: (a) 81 short-term teams (N = 254) where we manipulated presenteeism using confederates who acted as either sick or healthy coworkers and (b) 34 student project teams (N = 104) that collaborated for 3 months and we measured coworker presenteeism. Across the studies, mediated moderation results yielded some support for the black sheep hypothesis. When they were of the same race or sex, coworker presenteeism led participants to feel less positively and exhibit lower physical engagement and more organizational deviance (Study 1). When coworkers were more racially similar to the participant, coworker presenteeism triggered fear of contagion and negative affect resulting in more organizational and interpersonal deviance (Study 2).

Teacher organizational citizenship behaviours and job efficacy: Implications for student quality of school life.

The present study investigated the impact of teachers' organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) on student quality of school life (SQSL) via the indirect effect of job efficacy. A measure of teacher OCBs was developed, tapping one dimension of individual-focused OCB (OCBI - student-directed behaviour) and two dimensions of organization-focused OCB (OCBO - civic virtue and professional development). In line with previous research suggesting that OCBs may enhance job efficacy, as well as studies demonstrating the positive effects of teacher efficacy on student outcomes, we expected an indirect relationship between teachers OCBs and SQSL via teachers' job efficacy. Hypotheses were tested in a multi-level design in which 170 teachers and their students (N=3,057) completed questionnaires. A significant proportion of variance in SQSL was attributable to classroom factors. Analyses revealed that the civic virtue and professional development behaviours of teachers were positively related to their job efficacy. The job efficacy of teachers also had a positive impact on all five indicators of SQSL. In regards to professional development, job efficacy acted as an indirect variable in the prediction of four student outcomes (i.e., general satisfaction, student-teacher relations, achievement, and opportunity) and fully mediated the direct negative effect on psychological distress.

An examination of the relationship between workload and fatigue within and across consecutive days of work: is the relationship static or dynamic?

Cognitive-energetical theories of information processing were used to generate predictions regarding the relationship between perceived workload and fatigue within and across consecutive days of work. Repeated measures were taken aboard a naval vessel from a sample of 20 Navy patrol vessel crew members during nonroutine and routine patrols. The hypotheses were tested through growth curve modeling. There was a nonmonotonic relationship between workload and fatigue in the routine patrol; moderate workload was associated with the lowest fatigue. The relationship between workload and fatigue changed over consecutive days in the nonroutine patrol. At the beginning of the patrol, low workload was associated with fatigue. At the end of the patrol, high workload was associated with fatigue. These results suggest that the optimal level of workload can change over time and thus have implications for the management of fatigue, particularly where prolonged operations are involved.

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.

Subjective cognitive effort: a model of states, traits, and time.

Self-regulation theories were used to develop a dynamic model of the determinants of subjective cognitive effort. The authors assessed the roles of malleable states and stable individual differences. Subjective cognitive effort and perceived difficulty were measured while individuals performed an air traffic control task. As expected, Conscientiousness moderated the effort trajectory. Individuals with high Conscientiousness maintained subjective cognitive effort at high levels for longer than their counterparts. There were also individual differences in reactions to perceptions of task difficulty. The intra-individual relationship between perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort was stronger for individuals with low ability or low Conscientiousness than for their counterparts. A follow-up study showed that the measures of perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort were sensitive to a task difficulty manipulation as well as that the relationship between perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort held after controlling for self-set goal level. These findings contribute to the self-regulation literature by identifying factors that influence changes in subjective cognitive effort during skill acquisition.

An investigation into the resource requirements of event-based prospective memory.

The multiprocess view proposes that both strategic and automatic processes can support prospective memory. In three experiments, we embedded a prospective memory task in a lexical decision task; cues were either highly associated with response words or had no relation. Analyses of RTs on ongoing task trials indicated that (1) prospective memory was more dependent on the allocation of resources immediately prior to cue presentation under conditions of low association in comparison with high association and (2) processes engaged on cue trials were more resource demanding under conditions of low association in comparison with high association. These data support the claim of the multiprocess view that prospective memory can be more resource demanding under some task conditions in comparison with others. However, the prospective memory performance data were less supportive, with declines in prospective memory due to task-importance and cue-frequency manipulations comparable across the low- and high-association conditions. Taken together, these results have implications for two prominent theories of prospective memory.

An examination of the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and levels of specificity.

This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects--these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

Benefits of all work and no play: the relationship between neuroticism and performance as a function of resource allocation.

The authors evaluate a model suggesting that the performance of highly neurotic individuals, relative to their stable counterparts, is more strongly influenced by factors relating to the allocation of attentional resources. First, an air traffic control simulation was used to examine the interaction between effort intensity and scores on the Anxiety subscale of Eysenck Personality Profiler Neuroticism in the prediction of task performance. Overall effort intensity enhanced performance for highly anxious individuals more so than for individuals with low anxiety. Second, a longitudinal field study was used to examine the interaction between office busyness and Eysenck Personality Inventory Neuroticism in the prediction of telesales performance. Changes in office busyness were associated with greater performance improvements for highly neurotic individuals compared with less neurotic individuals. These studies suggest that highly neurotic individuals outperform their stable counterparts in a busy work environment or if they are expending a high level of effort.

ATC-lab: an air traffic control simulator for the laboratory.

Air Traffic Control Laboratory Simulator (ATC-lab) is a new low- and medium-fidelity task environment that simulates air traffic control. ATC-lab allows the researcher to study human performance of tasks under tightly controlled experimental conditions in a dynamic, spatial environment. The researcher can create standardized air traffic scenarios by manipulating a wide variety of parameters. These include temporal and spatial variables. There are two main versions of ATC-lab. The mediumfidelity simulator provides a simplified version of en route air traffic control, requiring participants to visually search a screen and both recognize and resolve conflicts so that adequate separation is maintained between all aircraft. The low-fidelity simulator presents pairs of aircraft in isolation, controlling the participant's focus of attention, which provides a more systematic measurement of conflict recognition and resolution performance. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that ATC-lab is a flexible tool for applied cognition research.

A multilevel analysis of effort, practice, and performance: effects; of ability, conscientiousness, and goal orientation.

This article examines the relationship between motivation and performance during skill acquisition. The authors used multilevel analysis to investigate relationships at within- and between-person levels of analysis. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of effort intensity and performance were taken at repeated intervals. As expected, the relationship between effort and performance increased with practice. Furthermore, the rate at which this effect strengthened was faster for individuals with high-ability or low-performance orientation. There was also an interaction between learning and performance orientations that only emerged after practice. By the end of practice, the negative effects of performance orientation were stronger for individuals with high learning orientation. Results highlight the importance of adopting a multilevel framework to enhance understanding of the link between motivation and performance.