This study evaluated instruction and feedback on completion of data collection by licensed specialized Foster Parents caring for children with developmental disabilities and mental health issues. Instructions were delivered at the beginning of the intervention for three licensed specialized Foster Parents by providing them with a Foster Parent Handbook (FPH), and feedback was provided weekly based on the data collected by the Foster Parents. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to demonstrate the effects of instruction with frequent feedback, and an intervention fading phase was conducted by withdrawing the feedback component of the intervention several weeks following the intervention. The results showed an increase for each of the participants from 0% data completion in the baseline phase to 100% data completion in the intervention phase, with mean compliance of 92% during the fading phase. This study provides support for a packaged intervention for increasing data collection by Foster Parents that is less intensive than the traditional behavioral approaches to caregiver training.

x, 133 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Individuals compete against each other in a variety of different settings. In labor markets they compete for promotion; in athletic tournaments they compete for fixed prizes. Important aspects of competitive choices include the probability of success, expected payoffs, the level of ambiguity regarding success, and preferences to compete. I explore the effects of biology and relative performance feedback in regard to these components in three essays. In the first essay I use a unique experiment design to measure ambiguity aversion, which can be modified to also control for risk aversion. A measure of ambiguity aversion has value as individuals in labor markets have ambiguous signals about their probabilities of success in competition. Consequently this measure may be used in future experiment designs to control for heterogeneous preferences for ambiguity and to test whether ambiguity affects behaviors differently than risk. Economic experiments have shown that when given the choice between piece rate and winner-take-all tournament style compensation, women are more reluctant than men to choose tournaments. In the second essay I replicate these findings and then show that giving relative performance feedback moves high ability women towards more competitive compensation schemes, moves low ability men towards less competitive compensation schemes, and removes the gender difference in compensation choices. I then examine differences in choices for women, across the menstrual cycle. I find that women in the low-hormone phase of their cycle are less likely to enter tournaments than women in the high-hormone phase. Men are more likely to choose tournaments than women at either stage. There are no significant selection differences between any of these groups after they receive relative performance feedback. Athletic labor markets provide a unique environment where individuals choose to compete when they have high quality information about their potential competitors. Gender differences for competition have been found to be removed when information about relative abilities is available. In the third essay, to explore the effect of information in a labor market setting, I use a unique data set of approximately 6,000 female and male competitive tennis players during the 2009 season. I focus on whether males and females choose to enter competitive tournaments differently in response to past performance. I find that males continue to compete after performing well in the previous week while females are less likely to compete if they do well. These contrasting behaviors suggest that males and females respond differently to performance feedback. / Committee in charge: William Harbaugh, Chairperson, Economics; Trudy Cameron, Member, Economics; Van Kolpin, Member, Economics; Christopher Minson, Outside Member, Human Physiology

Il lavoro, composto da tre articoli, si focalizza sulla relazione tra leadership e performance, indagata e osservata da molteplici punti di vista e attraverso differenti strategie di ricerca, ma sempre in un contesto pubblico o comunque mission-driven. In particolare, il primo articolo indaga la relazione tra leadership e performance organizzativa, con un duplice obiettivo: da un lato validare da un punto di vista metodologico la scala di misurazione più utilizzata, dall’altro verificarne la relazione con la performance organizzativa utilizzando una scala più parsimoniosa. Gli altri due articoli si focalizzano sulla relazione tra leadership e performance individuale: il primo esplora, attraverso un disegno di ricerca qualitativo, il ruolo del feedback fornito dal superiore nel processo di riflessione critica dei collaboratori, volto al cambiamento dei comportamenti e al miglioramento della propria performance; il secondo indaga, attraverso un disegno di ricerca sperimentale, gli effetti della credibilità dei leader sulla performance dei collaboratori, anche mediante la percezione da parte dei dipendenti dell’importanza e dell’utilità del proprio lavoro per gli altri. / The three papers included in the thesis focus on the relationship between leadership and performance, investigated and observed from multiple points of view and through different research strategies. All the papers are conducted in a public or mission-driven setting. The first article focuses on the relationship between leadership and organizational performance, with a twofold objective: on the one hand, to validate the most used measurement scale for leadership from a methodological point of view, and, on the other, to verify the relationship with organizational performance using a more parsimonious scale. The other two articles focus on the relationship between leadership and individual performance. One explores, through a qualitative research design, the role of feedback provided by the supervisor in employees’ critical reflection process, aimed at changing their behaviors and at improving their own performance. The last one investigates, through an experimental research design, the effects of leaders’ trustworthiness on the performance of employees, through the employees' perception of the task significance of their job.

Doctor of Philosophy / Psychological Sciences / Patrick A. Knight / This study was designed to examine the combined influence of feedback sign (i.e., positive or negative), feedback specificity, and goal orientation on individuals’ receptivity to performance feedback. Performance feedback is an often-prescribed solution to performance problems for both individuals and organizations, but evidence regarding its effectiveness as a mechanism for promoting positive outcomes has been mixed. It has been argued that one reason for the inconsistency in previous research findings may be a failure to adequately account for reactions to feedback (e.g., receptivity). Accordingly, this study focused on a series of variables with the potential to influence receptivity, in pursuit of a more comprehensive understanding of the feedback process. It was expected that individuals with certain achievement goal orientations would be more or less receptive to different characteristics of the feedback itself, and that the nature of the task being performed would further influence their willingness to accept feedback and implement task-relevant behavioral changes. Data were collected from 536 participants via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk marketplace. Participants completed the experiment in an online environment. Each participant was asked to complete a pair of error-detection tasks, focused on either mathematical computations or grammatical accuracy. Conditionally-assigned, fabricated feedback was provided after task performance on the initial trial. Surveys were used to assess goal orientation and feedback receptivity. Results indicated that greater feedback specificity was associated with greater receptivity to feedback. Analysis also revealed that feedback sign, feedback specificity, and goal orientation interact to influence receptivity, such that for performance-oriented individuals, specific positive feedback leads to the highest levels of receptivity and specific negative feedback prompts the lowest levels of receptivity. For mastery-oriented participants, however, specific feedback was associated with high levels of receptivity, regardless of whether that feedback was positive or negative. The results are discussed within the context of relative theoretical perspectives. Practical implications, promising avenues of future inquiry, and strengths and limitations of the research are discussed.

Purpose: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing frontier. One promising area for AI is its potential to assist sales managers in providing salesperson feedback. Despite this promise, little work has been done within the business-to-business (B2B) sales domain to investigate the potential impact of AI feedback on critical sales outcomes. The purpose of this research is to explore these issues and respond to calls in the literature to determine how AI can enhance salesperson adaptability and performance. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data from a sample of 246 B2B salespeople was used to test the conceptual model and research hypotheses. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The findings provide broad support for the model. An AI-feedback rich environment and salesperson feedback orientation predicted perceived accuracy of AI feedback which, in turn, strengthened intentions to use AI feedback. These favorable reactions to AI feedback positively related to adaptive selling behaviors, and adaptive selling behaviors mediated the relationships between intentions to use AI feedback and organizational commitment, as well as sales performance. Contrary to expectations, it did not mediate the relationship between intentions to use AI feedback and job satisfaction. Practical implications: The managerial implications of this study lie in explaining practical considerations for the implementation and use of AI feedback in the sales context. Originality/value: This study extends literature on technology adoption, performance feedback and the use of AI in the B2B sales domain. It offers practical insight for sales managers and those responsible for implementing AI solutions in sales.

This study examined the effects of performance feedback information on parenting practices that contribute to development of vocabulary and pre-literacy skills. Fifty-one dyads of parents and their pre-school aged children were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group one received full treatment including a workshop and feedback. Group two, designated as the control group, did not receive the feedback portion of the treatment; and group three, designated as a wait list control group, received neither the workshop nor performance feedback. All participating parents were administered a survey of parenting practices that lead to vocabulary and pre-literacy development. Treatment produced significant results for the vocabulary measure; however, the data did not yield a significant result for the cognitive measure. There appeared to be a significant difference between the treatment group and the wait list control group. This difference was not found when comparing the treatment group to the control group, or when comparing the control to the wait list control. Also, feedback was shown to have an effect on only one of the five parenting practices surveyed.

Effective classroom management may be one of the most important skills a teacher can possess. However, many teachers begin their careers lacking the expertise required to run a classroom to maximize the potential for student academic success. With the addition of legislation such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, teachers have become increasingly accountable for the academic achievement of their students. Numerous studies have found a direct link between effective classroom management skills and higher academic achievement of students (Oliver & Reschly, 2007; Gresham, 2009; Wenglinsky, 2002; Strong, Ward & Grant, 2011). Teacher praise for appropriate student behavior has been proven to be an effective classroom management strategy (Villeda, Shuster, & Carter, 2016). The current study examined the effect of two types of consultation (i.e., consultation only and consultation with performance feedback) on increasing teacher’s skill levels in the use of behavior specific praise in an effort to decrease student disruptions in the classroom. A multiple baseline A/B/B+C/ Follow-up design was used to determine the effectiveness of the two consultation methods. Results indicated that both consultation methods increased the teachers’ praise to correction ratios and reduced the frequency of students’ disruptive behavior. Implications of the study and future directions are discussed.

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