The current study sought to explain when and why situational constraints
negatively influence performance on a complex task. In particular, perceived control
and affective reactions (frustration and satisfaction) were examined as potential
explanatory mechanisms, while ability and motivation were tested as moderators. The
influence of situational constraints on task strategies was also examined and tested for
possible nonlinearity. Finally the extent to which task strategy use moderates the
situational constraint-task performance relationship was investigated. A laboratory
study using 158 undergraduate psychology students was conducted. Three levels of
situational constraints (low, moderate, high) were experimentally manipulated.
Performance on a problem solving execution task, as well as experimenter observations
of strategy use, were used to represent the constructs of interest in the study. Results
indicated that situational constraints were directly related to task satisfaction and
frustration and performance. In addition task strategy use was directly related to
performance. However, there was no evidence for mediation or moderation effects.
Limitations and future directions are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-3055 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Horner, Margaret Tutt |
| Contributors | Payne, Stephanie C. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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