Investigou-se o efeito do foco de instrução relacionado ao componente da tarefa durante a aprendizagem da pirouette do balé clássico. Setenta e dois estudantes universitários foram divididos em seis grupos (n = 12) de acordo com o foco de instrução: (1) Cabeça, (2) Braços, (3) Tronco, (4) Joelhos, (5) Pés, e (6) Controle. Na fase de aquisição, todos os participantes realizaram 160 tentativas em quatro blocos de 20 tentativas por dia. Nessa fase, todos os grupos receberam instrução geral verbal e visualmente, e em seguida, instrução específica de acordo com o componente. Após uma semana, todos os participantes realizaram o teste de retenção, sem nenhuma instrução. As variáveis dependentes foram as medidas de padrão de movimento, de erro de performance e de tempo de movimento. Os resultados mostraram que todos os grupos melhoraram o desempenho na fase de aquisição, e que a performance foi mantida no teste de retenção. Contudo, não houve diferença entre os grupos. Concluiu-se que instrução específica e instrução geral proporcionam efeito similar na aprendizagem da pirouette / This study investigated the effects of instruction focus regarded to the task component on the learning of the classical ballet pirouette. Seventy-two college students were divided into six groups (n = 12) according to the instruction focus: (1) Head, (2) Arms, (3) Trunk, (4) Knees, (5) Feet, and (6) Control. In the acquisition phase, all participants performed 160 trials in four blocks of 20 trials per day. In this phase, all groups received general verbal and visual instruction, and after that they received specific instruction according to the component. After a week, all of them performed the retention test, with no instruction. Dependent variable involved movement pattern, error of performance, and movement time measures. Results showed that all groups bettered the performance in the acquisition phase, and that the performance was kept in the retention test. However, no differences between the groups were revealed. It was concluded that the specific and general instruction provide a similar effect on the pirouette learning

Tax planning is a core service provided by tax practices of public accounting firms. Performing this service well is important to the firms, their clients and the tax professionals involved. This study experimentally examines the effects of supervisory advice on the judgment of tax professionals performing tax planning tasks of different complexity, in the presence of the tax contextual features of accountability and time pressure, and finds that such advice is not necessarily helpful to performance. The advice, task complexity and accountability literatures are used in framing arguments and developing hypotheses, which propose that the timing of advice and the complexity of the task interact, so that advice is not necessarily beneficial. The study also draws on the behavioral tax, audit and accounting literatures. Discussions with senior tax practitioners indicate that supervisory advice is usually given to tax professionals before they commence tax planning tasks. The results of this study support the hypotheses and demonstrate that this practice of giving advice may not improve performance in a tax planning task and may even be detrimental. First, the results indicate that the giving of advice by a supervisor should be conditional on task complexity. Supervisory advice is beneficial for a higher-complexity task but detrimental to a lower-complexity task. Second, the timing of when any advice is provided is important. Although advice is beneficial for the higher-complexity task, the results indicate that when advice is given before the tax professional commences the task it interferes with the processing of information and insightful judgments. The giving of advice after the tax professional has thought through the task and prepared a tentative solution results in better performance for this more complex task. / Accounting

It is a testament to the complexity of learning that one hundred years of research on feedback has not produced universal prescriptions for training. Results are split in two directions; those recommending more feedback during training and those recommending less. Numerous theories that explain and predict certain feedback effects, but none explain the mixed findings in the literature. This has resulted in: a) no singular theory and b) little understanding of other factors that might affect the mechanism of feedback. The following series of studies systematically manipulated the cognitive load of the experimental task and measured learner working memory capacity. The overall question was whether forcing the learner to self-evaluate would result in more or less learning of a rule-based cognitive task and how this effect might be moderated by the working memory capacity of the learner and the load of the task to be learned. It was expected that high working memory capacity learners might learn more when difficulties were introduced for a simple task (via less supportive feedback). Instead, all groups not only learned more when receiving more support, the high working memory capacity learners appeared more able to utilize the additional feedback. Instead of providing their own support when feedback was minimal or lacking, high working memory capacity participants seemed best able to make use of the information provided in supportive feedback. Low working memory capacity participants seemed unable to either provide their own support when feedback was minimal or lacking, but also were not as able to make use of the information provided in more supportive feedback. The contribution of the current series of studies is an explanation of why and how appropriate level of feedback support can change based on the working memory capacity of the learner and demands of the task. Feedback can either impose a load upon the learner to self-evaluate or provide support for acquisition performance. Though learners may benefit from feedback neither too high nor too low, the current results indicate that additional feedback is most useful to those with the attentional resources available to utilize it.

In this study, employees are given autonomy in effort allocation across two tasks - complex and simple tasks, where the return to the organization is significantly higher for the complex task requiring high skill than for the simple task requiring low skill. An unavoidable feature of multi-task settings is that effort expended on one task detracts from effort that can be expended on another task. This effort trade-off among tasks becomes problematic when the returns from different tasks are unequal, with important consequences for a firm's overall performance. The design of management accounting control systems in such multi-task setting is difficult because organizations have to achieve multiple objectives: to improve productivity on both simple and complex tasks (i.e., performance) and to direct employee effort to more complex tasks given that the complex tasks are more valuable to firms (i.e., effort allocation). In a laboratory experiment, I examine the effects of two motivational mechanisms, financial compensation and relative performance information (RPI), on employee performance and effort allocation between simple and complex tasks. I find that the effects of RPI and financial compensation are independent such that each motivational mechanism affects performance and effort allocation separately. In addition, I find that the effects of RPI or financial compensation depend on whether a worker is a top performer or a bottom performer. Also, findings demonstrate that the effects of these motivational mechanisms on employee effort allocation and performance depend on the complexity of the task. Future research studies and managers who design incentive systems should consider the implementation of different types of incentives for different performer levels. Organizations should consider the degree of complexity of the tasks that workers must perform in multi-task settings.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Decision making is crucial for enterprises, being frequently done by groups. However, the way information is shared among groups, as well as the complexity of the task being analyzed might affect the quality of group decision. Thus, the following research aims to identify how information sharing and task complexity influence on group decision. Besides, it is aimed to (a) validate a decisive task related to information sharing and task complexity; b) verify the way information sharing affects taking decisions in groups and; c) illustrate the effect of task complexity in group decisive process. Four hypotheses were drawn in order to corroborate these objectives. The methodology applied was an almost-experimental research conducted in a laboratory, having as independent variables the information sharing and task complexity; and as a dependent variable, group decision. In order to contemplate those variables, the applied task has been adapted from Stasser and Stewart (1992) and Fraidin (2004), and is denominated Murder Mystery . This task went through a process of reverse translation, cultural adaptation, and two validations corroborating the first specific objective of this research. It was used a system for data collection developed specifically for the experiment, STAR Individual x SER Grupo . Besides, group discussions were followed by observers previously trained and recorded for further analysis. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted. The number of undergraduate students taking part in the experiment was 144. Concerning specific objectives, it was observed that there were no differences between the quality of the decision from both groups, independently of the type of information sharing, good decisions were taken. Fisher s test has been applied to the decisions with total and partial sharing. It was also compared the decisions taken by groups that mad a simple task and the ones of a complex one, with no statistically significance for Fisher s test, leading to the fact that there is no difference between the quality of the decision taken by groups that made a simple task and groups that made complex ones. However, the more a task is complex; the less information is discussed by a member of the group, jeopardizing decision making. All the research objectives were reached. In a general sense, through testing four hypotheses, there was no influence of information sharing and task complexity in group decision, opposing a great part of the literature, indicating that more studies on this topic are necessary. / O ato de decidir é crucial para as empresas, sendo freqüente que grupos o realizem. Entretanto, a forma como a informação é compartilhada entre os membros do grupo, bem como o grau de complexidade da tarefa que está sendo analisada podem afetar a qualidade da decisão grupal. Dessa forma, esta pesquisa visa identificar como o compartilhamento da informação e a complexidade da tarefa influenciam a decisão em grupo. Além disso, ainda busca-se (a) validar uma tarefa decisória relacionada ao compartilhamento de informações e a complexidade da tarefa; b) verificar como o compartilhamento de informações afeta a tomada de decisão em grupo e; c) ilustrar o efeito da complexidade da tarefa no processo decisório grupal. Quatro hipóteses foram traçadas a fim de corroborar esses objetivos. Como metodologia de investigação realizou-se um quase-experimento em laboratório, tendo como variáveis independentes o compartilhamento da informação e a complexidade da tarefa, e como variável dependente a decisão em grupo. Para contemplar essas variáveis, a tarefa aplicada foi adaptada de Stasser e Stewart (1992) e Fraidin (2004), e denomina-se Mistério do Assassinato . Essa tarefa passou por um processo de tradução reversa, adaptação cultural e duas validações corroborando ao primeiro objetivo específico deste trabalho. Para a aplicação da mesma foi utilizado um sistema de coleta de dados desenvolvido especificamente para este experimento, o STAR Individual x SER Grupo. Além disso, as discussões dos grupos foram acompanhadas por observadores previamente treinados e gravadas para posterior análise. Foram realizadas análises quantitativa e qualitativa dos dados. Ao total participaram do experimento 144 estudantes de graduação. Com relação do aos objetivos específicos, observou-se, através do Teste de Fisher aplicado às decisões tomadas pelos grupos com compartilhamento total e parcial, que não houve diferenças entre a qualidade da decisão de ambos os grupos, sendo que independentemente do tipo de compartilhamento da informação boas decisões foram tomadas. Também se comparou as decisões tomadas pelos grupos que realizaram a tarefa simples e os que realizaram a tarefa complexa, não encontrando significância estatística para o Teste de Fisher, indicando não haver diferença entre a qualidade da decisão tomada pelos grupos que realizaram tarefas simples e os grupos que realizaram tarefas complexas. Entretanto, verificou-se que quanto maior a complexidade da tarefa menor número de informações discutidas pelo membro do grupo, o que pode prejudicar a tomada de decisão. Todos os objetivos da pesquisa foram atingidos. De um modo geral, a partir do teste de quatro hipóteses, não se verificou influência do compartilhamento da informação e da complexidade da tarefa na decisão em grupo, contrariando grande parte da literatura, o que indica que mais estudos acerca dessa temática tornam-se necessários.

Although dominant effects of tasks on individuals' information-seeking behavior is accepted by many scholars, a limited number of studies has been conducted to reveal the nature of the relationship between tasks and information-seeking behavior. In their studies, some earlier researchers categorized tasks according to their complexity while others did the same according to the specifications of tasks. Two of the groundbreaking researchers in this area are Katriina Byström and Kalervo Järvelin who contributed to the understanding of the relationship between task complexity and information-seeking behavior. However, their findings also need empirical support for theory growth. In response to this need, this study attempts to test Byström and Järvelin's findings through a research using different research methods and applied in a police work environment. Other than providing empirical support for theory growth, this research is also expected to contribute to the understudied area of police information-seeking behavior. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the participants who came from traffic, homicide, and anti-terrorism divisions of Ankara, Eskisehir, and Kirikkale Police Departments in Turkey. The participants identified terrorism cases as the most complex cases to solve, followed by homicide and traffic accident cases. Differences in the information-seeking behavior of three groups of police officers were examined through qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Oneway ANOVA technique and post hoc comparisons were used to analyze the quantitative data. In addition to shedding light on information-seeking behavior of police officers investigating related cases in Turkey, the results provided support for Byström and Järvelin's findings. For instance, the officers investigating more complex tasks used significantly more information sources than the others, while the use of external information sources was significantly higher in more complex cases.

Research on task-based language teaching (TBLT) offers a large body of evidence suggesting that cognitive task complexity influences learners’ language production and development. Studies that investigate task complexity, however, provide contradictory results on the way different linguistic aspects of performance are affected by the manipulation of cognitive task complexity. The empirical study presented in this degree project aimed to investigate the effect of task complexity on the accuracy, complexity and fluency in learners ́ written performance. An additional goal of the study was to examine whether proficiency level would mediate the effects of cognitive task complexity. In order to explain the influence of cognitive task complexity on linguistic performance two theoretical models are used and discussed, namely Skehan’s Limited Attention Capacity Hypothesis (Skehan 2015) and Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson 2001, 2011, 2015). In order to answer the research questions guiding the study, 71 Swedish high school students of Spanish performed a simple or a more cognitively complex version of a written task. Results showed that increasing task complexity had a positive effect on the fluency, accuracy, and complexity of the participants ́ written performance, and that these effects were greater among the high proficiency participants’ productions. These results offer valuable implications for syllabus and task designers, language teachers and examiners, as well as second and foreign language researchers.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity on decisions by managers to continue or discontinue a new product after receiving negative performance feedback. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a classroom experiment design and uses logistic regression and a chi-square test to analyze the data. Findings: The findings of this paper show that self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity have not only main effects but also interactive effects on managers’ go or no-go decisions; further, the main effects are mediated by interactions. The effect of self-efficacy is moderated by process feedback and task complexity. Process feedback and task complexity also have an interactive effect on decisions about new products by decision-makers. Research limitations/implications: This paper extends the theory of escalation of commitment (EOC) by showing that self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity can influence decision-makers’ go or no-go decisions after they have received negative performance feedback. Practical implications: This paper provides useful guidelines for managers on how to reduce the likelihood of EOC. Originality/value: The originality and value of this paper lie in its being the first to examine the effects of process feedback and task complexity on the EOC.

This study investigates the effects of including a recipient in writing instructions on the quality of writing produced by L2 English students. To evaluate the effect of the recipient, writing performances are first assessed in texts written in response to instructions that do not explicitly specify a recipient. They are subsequently compared to writing performances by the same students in texts produced for similar instructions but this time with an explicitly stated recipient. The results of the main experiment are complemented with test-taker surveys that capture the students’ own perceptions about the differences between the two tasks. The participating pupils are from two classes at an inner-city municipal Upper Secondary school in Sweden, one at level ENG05 and the other at level ENG07. The study is inspired by communicative language teaching where the writer’s adaptation to the recipient is central. The study tests for the recipient effect along a broad spectrum of linguistic and communicative measures. The results show that students in both classes performed at a higher level with an explicit recipient across all four communicative measures and two out of four linguistic measures. The study also identified a generally stronger recipient effect in ENG05 than in ENG07 and a mixed pattern when comparing students with differing abilities in English. The main finding of the test-taker survey is that students prefer doing tasks with a specified recipient but are slightly more familiar with tasks without a recipient. They also report that they rarely imagine an English-speaking recipient when writing a task and that they often write with the teacher in mind.