The purpose of this study is to investigate how different incentive contracts that include forward-looking and contemporaneous goals motivate managers to make decisions consistent with the organization’s long-term objectives, in tasks of varying complexity. Two research questions are addressed. First, in a long-term horizon setting, how do incentive contracts based on various combinations of forward-looking and contemporaneous measures influence decisions? Second, how does task complexity influence the expected effect of various incentive contracts on management decisions? I address my research questions using a multi-period experiment where I compare the effects of three different incentive structure types and two different levels of task complexity. Results show that in a low complexity task, individuals perform better when only contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded in the incentive contract than when both forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded. In a high complexity task, individuals perform better when both contemporaneous and forward-looking goal attainment is rewarded, but only when the contemporaneous goal attainment is weighted more heavily in the incentive contract. My research contributes to the existing literature in two ways. First, this is the first study of which I am aware that compares the performance effects of long-term incentive contracts that reward forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment. Second, this study is the first of which I am aware to experimentally test incentive contracts, for employees with a long-term horizon, that incorporate various weightings of forward-looking measures in the contract. In addition, this study will be amongst the first to examine the impact of task complexity on incentive contract effectiveness.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how different incentive contracts that include forward-looking and contemporaneous goals motivate managers to make decisions consistent with the organization’s long-term objectives, in tasks of varying complexity. Two research questions are addressed. First, in a long-term horizon setting, how do incentive contracts based on various combinations of forward-looking and contemporaneous measures influence decisions? Second, how does task complexity influence the expected effect of various incentive contracts on management decisions? I address my research questions using a multi-period experiment where I compare the effects of three different incentive structure types and two different levels of task complexity. Results show that in a low complexity task, individuals perform better when only contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded in the incentive contract than when both forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded. In a high complexity task, individuals perform better when both contemporaneous and forward-looking goal attainment is rewarded, but only when the contemporaneous goal attainment is weighted more heavily in the incentive contract. My research contributes to the existing literature in two ways. First, this is the first study of which I am aware that compares the performance effects of long-term incentive contracts that reward forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment. Second, this study is the first of which I am aware to experimentally test incentive contracts, for employees with a long-term horizon, that incorporate various weightings of forward-looking measures in the contract. In addition, this study will be amongst the first to examine the impact of task complexity on incentive contract effectiveness.

Learner-controlled e-learning has become a preferred medium for the delivery of organizational training. While e-learning offers organizations and trainees many advantages, it also comes with several potential disadvantages. The aim of this study was to explore the relative efficacy of learner- and program-controlled e-learning for content that differs in its complexity. This study also explored cognitive load as a differential mediator of the interaction between learner control and training content complexity for predicting cognitive and behavioral learning outcomes. Finally, learning goal orientation was explored as a motivational individual difference that helps learners cope with complex, learner-controlled e-learning environments. Results suggest that while there is little difference between learners in learner- and program-controlled e-learning environments for content that is relatively simple in nature, complex, learner-controlled e-learning environments are detrimental to cognitive learning relative to complex, program-controlled environments. Moreover, the results suggest that this interaction is differentially mediated by cognitive load, suggesting that complex, learner-controlled environments induce high cognitive demands onto learners which ultimately inhibit cognitive learning. Finally, learning goal orientation was identified as more facilitative individual difference in learner-controlled e-learning environments relative to program-controlled and simple training environments. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.

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Widowhood is a stressful life event that can impact an individual’s everyday life, including her decision making abilities. The complexity of the decision is also likely to influence the decision making abilities of these widows. The purpose of this dissertation was to better understand widows’ decision making processes, their preferences for collaboration when making decisions, and their satisfaction with the decision outcomes. Data analysis consisted of a series of 3 (widowed status) x 2 (task complexity) ANOVAS and ANCOVAS which found that both complexity and widowed status influence decision making processes. Higher complexity led to less overall satisfaction, but none of the other satisfaction variables yielded significant results. In addition, there were no significant findings with regard to preferences for collaboration. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to better understand individual difference variables on decision processing. Restoration orientation coping, loss orientation coping, and task complexity were found to be significant for decision processing and satisfaction measures. Future studies should aim to develop decision aids for this particular population so that they are able to make better decisions.

To manage an uncertain future relevant societal groups, such as government and corporate sectors, utilise economic forecasts to help plan future strategies. Many vital decisions are based on economic forecasts. Economists have traditionally been the professionals employed as economic forecasting experts. The dominant paradigm for present day forecasting is the "rational expectations theory", which assumes that a forecaster is capable of making optimal use all of the available information. The field of psychology offers a different, yet complementary, approach to the topic of economic forecasting. The aim of the current study was to research mental processes and behaviours of individuals participating in a forecasting task. The role of the following psychological variables within economic prediction behaviour was assessed: (1) task complexity, (2) decision making style, (3) the anchoring and adjustment heuristic, (4) the framing effect, and (5) personal feelings about the task content. All of these variables were hypothesised to have a direct influence on prediction behaviour. In addition, task complexity and decision making style were assumed to moderate the influence of the other psychological variables. A conceptual framework was designed to depict the assumed relationships. (For complete abstract open document)

The nature and function of Task Complexity, in the context of senior secondary mathematics, has been identified through: a search of the research literature; interviews with experts that focused on the nature of task complexity; expert use of the Williams/Clarke Framework of Complexity (1997) as a tool to categorise the complexity of a task, and observation and analysis of the responses of senior secondary mathematics students as they worked in collaborative groups to solve an unfamiliar challenging problem. Although frequently used in the literature to describe tasks, ‘complexity’ has often lacked definition. Expert opinion about the nature of mathematical complexity was ascertained by seeking the opinions of experts in the areas of mathematics, mathematics education, and gifted education. Expert opinion about task complexity was stimulated by questions about the relative complexity of two tasks. The experts then categorised the complexities within each of these tasks using the Williams/Clarke Framework of Complexity. This framework identifies the dimensions of task complexity and was found by experts to be both useful and adequate for this purpose. A theoretical framework was developed to assess student ability to solve challenging problems. This theoretical framework was used to design a test to assess student ability to solve challenging problems. The information this test provided about the problem solving ability of the students in this study informed my analysis of student response to complexity.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da estrutura de prática no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora em razão da complexidade da tarefa. Os participantes foram 160 crianças de ambos os gêneros e a tarefa foi de timing coincidente. No experimento 1, as crinaças executaram uma tarefa que consistiu tocar certos alvos de forma seqüencial em integração a um estímulo visual (tarefa simples) e, o experimento 2, uma tarefa com 6 toques (tarefa complexa). O delineamento dos dois experimentos constou de quatro grupos (prática constante, prática aleatória, prática constante-aleatória, e prática aleatória-constante) e de duas fases de aprendizagem (estabilização e adaptação) As variáveis dependentes foram os erros absoluto, variável e constante. Os resultados mostraram que a complexidade da tarefa afetou os efeitos da estruturação da prática no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora. Verificou-se que, para a aprendizagem da tarefa simples, a adaptação ocorreu com similar desempenho para os quatro grupos, enquanto que para a tarefa complexa, o desempenho foi pior para o grupo constante / The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of practice schedule in the adaptive process of motor learning in reason of task complexity. The participants were one hundred and sixty children of both gender and the task was of coincident timing. In the experiment 1 the children performed a task that consisted of touching four response keys sequentially in conjunction with a visual stimulus (simple task), and, the experiment 2, the task evolved six touches (complex task). The experimental design of both experiments consisted of four practice groups (constant, random, constant-random and random-constant) and two learning phases (stabilization and adaptation). Dependent variables were absolute, variable and constant errors. The results show that task complexity affected the effects of practice schedule in the adaptive process of motor learning. It was verified that for learning of simple task the adaptation occurred with similar performance for all groups, while the complex task occurred worse performance for constant group

The primary focus of this study is to determine how clausal complexity and accuracy develop over the course of three academic years of intermediate to advanced-level German. This study aims to shed light on issues related to learner development of writing during advanced stages of language acquisition, particularly after conducting a study abroad. The main goal of this study will be to track the writing complexity and accuracy of multiple students longitudinally. This paper will identify Weighted Clause Ratio (Foster & Wigglesworth, 2016), as well as address Skills Acquisition Theory (DeKeyser, 2007), Interaction Hypothesis (Swain, 1985), and the Limited Attentional Capacity Theory (Skehan, 1998). In addition to this, the study will discuss the impact of a study abroad on the language-learning process, task complexity, and the language-learning plateau. Following a review of terminology, I will discuss how Weighted-Clause Ratio will be used to determine clausal accuracy and complexity. The data of this study will be analyzed with results shown in intervals throughout three academic years, comparing each of the three years with one another. Results indicate that accuracy increases drastically over the final two years when compared to the change in the first two years, confirming the effect that study abroad has on the written accuracy of learners, and the complexity showed improvements in some measures over the course of the study, but varied in other measures. I conclude the thesis by discussing by discussing the implications of these findings for our understanding of writing complexity and accuracy, and the long-term effects of study abroad.

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