This dissertation reports findings from two laboratory experiments and a field study demonstrating significant reliance by users on interface layout information in interactive tasks. In Experiment l, a paradigm was introduced where either the layout of the interface was changed or labels were removed, after participants completed a minimum of eleven trials of a routine computer-based task. Since layout change had a more detrimental effect on performance, in Experiment 2, two methods expected to mediate that effect were explored: the addition of color and a layout based on a simple preexisting rule of top-to-bottom control order. Only the latter was effective, showing that introducing an interface layout that leverages preexisting knowledge can actually improve task performance. In the field study, a methodology was developed to put these findings to the test at a local family medicine clinic using an electronic medical records system. By studying nurses' use of an existing data entry form, a new form was designed to more closely follow their workflow. Similar to the top-to-bottom control order manipulation in Experiment 2, the new form layout seemed to produce better performance and was liked better by the nurses. Thus, in contrast to the vast body of literature in the field that has emphasized the importance of label information (e.g., Polson & Lewis, 1990) and goal structure (e.g., John & Kieras, 1996) in computer-based tasks, these findings reveal that users quickly learn to rely on layout information.

The commission of error is often perceived as the result of such internal attributes as negligence, laziness, carelessness, and inattention. In organizational settings, such a perception often leads to the administration of punitive actions against the responsible individual. Recent research on error, however, has moved thinking from a "conventional wisdom" perspective of human error to a systems perspective. According to this systems perspective, humans are remarkably reliable "stand-alone" systems, and errors tend to arise primarily when humans interact with technological systems. Errors can be triggered by technology and its environment, as a result of the way these factors interact and challenge human limitations. Byrne and Bovair (1997) found that the commission of a particular type of error, postcompletion error, is related to a high working memory load imposed by external forces or task complexity. Two experiments were designed to assess the effects of typical organizational responses to error on the commission of postcompletion errors over time. Because organizations tend to assume that errors are under the control of the individual, methods such as reprimands and re-instruction are often administered to "motivate" individuals to not commit errors. Similarly, praise is often administered to encourage the continuation of appropriate behavior. A systems perspective, however, would argue that a troublesome task should be redesigned to accommodate the limitations of the human cognitive system under certain circumstances. The results of the experiments reported here indicated that, over time, simple tasks were learned so well that people made few errors, and therefore, responses to error appeared to have little effect on the commission of error. It was found, however, that when a task was redesigned, participants were much quicker at executing a critical redesigned task step than participants who were reprimanded, received re-instruction, or were praised for their performance. This indicates that the cost of low-error performance for these participants came at the cost of increased time to complete the critical step, further indicating that these participants had to consciously expend effort to not commit the error.

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between work experience and job knowledge. The data used came from the United States Air Force job performance measurement system (JPMS) database. Data on the cognitive ability and job tenure for two hundred seventy-two aerospace ground equipment specialists (AGE) were used. In addition two measures of task experience were obtained for a sample of 24 AGE tasks. These tasks were subsequently quantified in terms of their difficulty. Hypotheses that work experience predicts job knowledge, and that a task-level measure of work experience, as compared to a job level measure, would be more predictive of job knowledge were supported. In addition, it was shown that both cognitive ability and the difficulty of the task moderates the task experience--job knowledge relationship. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

The present study examined nontraditional career modeling from the perspective of social categorization and subtyping theories. Its main objective was to isolate the discrete, additive, and interactive effects of the manipulated model prototypicality factors, femininity and exceptionality on a set of dependent measures related to children's occupational gender stereotyping and girls' career interest and confidence. This research also pioneered the use of peers as career models and examined their effectiveness relative to adults. In general, prototypical models were expected to be more influential in decreasing stereotypes and increasing girls' interest in the modeled career than atypical models. Results showed that model femininity did, in fact, have the hypothesized effect on girls' career interest. Also as hypothesized, models who were both feminine and nonexceptional generally had the most influence in decreasing stereotyping. The expectation that models who were both nonfeminine and exceptional would have the least influence was supported for only one of the stereotyping measures. On other stereotyping measures, a model exceptionality model femininity interaction revealed a pattern whereby feminine models had more influence when they were nonexceptional. No overall superiority of peer models over adult models was hypothesized, or found. The expectation that exceptional peers would inspire less career confidence than exceptional adults was supported.

Within the last three decades the number of single-parent and dual career families in this country have nearly doubled resulting in a steady increase in the demand for high-quality, safe child care to replace the care once traditionally provided by stay-at-home parents. Unfortunately, the supply of quality child care has not kept pace with the increasing demand, leaving parents to struggle with the stress of lower-than-desirable child care and the disruptions that occur when there is a failure in such arrangements (Kahn & Kamerman, 1987; Miller, 1990). An important implication of this struggle is the effect that it has on parents' ability to cope and function effectively at work. Past research on the interference of child care problems at work has been sparse and required parents to provide retrospective reports. The current study used an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) approach to examine the day-to-day experiences of working mothers with children in child care. Participants responded to questionnaires four times per day during work using a hand-held computer and recorded disruptions from caregiving responsibilities, psychological outcomes, and self-reported work outcomes. Results indicated that mothers experienced a considerable number of child care disruptions, which were related to more negative work outcomes, including decreased productivity and concentration; and more negative psychological outcomes, including increased stress levels and work-family conflict. Participants reported significantly more disruptions during daily recordings than by retrospective reporting of disruptions during the previous year, indicating that ESM may be capturing aspects of child care disruptions not encapsulated in previous retrospective studies. Several significant moderators of the relationship between child care disruptions and psychological outcomes were found, including individual differences, such as neuroticism, family involvement, and parent-child relationship closeness; and social support, including spousal support and supervisor support. However, no significant moderators of the relationship between child care disruptions and work outcomes were found.

It is popularly believed that justifying an affirmative action plan (AAP) through emphasizing the advantages that diverse students can bring to a college campus will increase nonbeneficiary support for the program. However, there has been little empirical support for this proposition, perhaps because previous research has not directly articulated to participants the value of a diverse student body. As such, a 4 (Type of justification: Compensation, Instrumental, Combination, or No Justification) x 3 (Type of AAP: Increased recruitment, Proportional Selection Quotas, or Weak Preferential Treatment) between-subjects design was used to determine how the explicit framing of an AAP influences subsequent reactions. Both quantitative and qualitative data from 216 White undergraduate participants revealed that the combination justification, which highlighted the benefits of the AAP to minority and majority students, was the most effective means of increasing support for the plan, regardless both of the type of AAP and numerous participant characteristics.

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