Human Performance Summary
Theme 1: How can employees be motivated to invest effort to perform at a high goal level?
It often assumed that performance is determined by voluntary thought processes, but many
aspects remain outside our volition.
Problem 1 – Resources
Effort = a dynamic construct within an individual in response to individual and environmental
factors (Yeo & Neal, 2008);
- Physical effort: body is stressed due to physical effort or environmental aspects
- Mental effort: limited capacity resource that affects the speed of information
processing (which then affects the desired level of performance). Goes paired with a
subjective feeling of strain
Mental effort is investigated to prevent cognitive overload (lecture Tobias):
- Long term exposure to high work demand may lead to mental overload and medical
problems or mistakes and accidents
- Recommended: job redesign, selection and/or training may be needed
The amount of mental effort necessary for an individual to carry out a mental task is
influenced/moderated by both:
- Task load: task characteristics/task complexity
o Selecting certain stimuli, keeping or manipulating them in working memory,
selecting responses
- State load: state of a person;
o Skills or general executive control can be impaired
o Arousal can be maladjusted by fatigue (ego depletion), intoxication
o Cognitive ability (Yeo & Neal, 2008)
Individuals with low cognitive ability respond stronger to changes in
perceived task difficulty than individuals with high cog. Ability (link to
problem 6)
o Conscientiousness (Yeo & Neal, 2008)
People with high conscientiousness continuously invest effort in the
task (stable), while people low in conscientiousness only increase
effort when the task becomes difficult (flexible)
o Neuroticism (Doorn & Lang, 2010)
Individuals high on withdrawal allocate more effort as a task becomes
more demanding (improve their performance). Volatility individuals
are susceptible to environmental signals, so they may view extra task
demand negatively and react to it by spending effort on off-task
mental activities that do not aid task performance.
o Thinking about how other individuals may assist in one’s goal pursuits can
lead one to reduce the effort expended, presumably due to the perception
that fewer personal resources will be required to succeed (Schmidt et al.,
2013).
,The Role of Rewards (Milyavskaya et al., 2019)
Relates to distal processes in Kanfer & Ackermann model
When engaging in cognitive effort on any given task, a person foregoes opportunities to
engage in other (potentially valuable) tasks – these lost opportunities are termed the
opportunity cost of persisting at an effortful task (Kurzban et al., 2013)
- Mainly tasks that are shorter (+/- 30 min) follow this model
The costs of engaging in further effort are expected to rise as more effort is exerted, with the
value of effort exertion (the cost-benefit ratio) diminishing proportionally. After people exert
large cognitive effort, they exhibit increased sensitivity towards rewards ( not confirmed in
the Milyavskaya et al. study).
Boredom, depletion, and fatigue are seen as stop-signals (= end cognitive effort and engage
in other pursuits/goals)
- Greater and more frequent experiences of boredom have been linked to engaging in
more impulsive, reward-seeking behavior
Resource Theory (Kahneman, 1973)
- Humans have a single pool of limited resources
- Arousal and resources: low arousal means low
capacity
- Conscious processes assume more effort
investments while automated processes require
less
- Task load and effort investment related for given
performance
- Strategies are automatized
The first real theory about resources, however, Kahneman only talks about resource volume
(predominantly perceptual-motor tasks). There’s little talk about resource allocation
(automatic) BUT typically excludes resource strategies
Skill Acquisition and Individual Differences (link to problem 3)
The contribution of ability and motivation factors to task performance depends on the
attentional demands imposed by the task.
A production system perspective to suggest that skill acquisition can be segmented into
three phases:
1. Declarative knowledge (cognitive; general intelligence)
2. Knowledge compilation (associative; perceptual speed)
3. Procedural knowledge (autonomous; psychomotor)
Attentional demands can be associated with the level of skill performance. When tasks of at
least moderate difficulty demand the use of declarative knowledge, performance is
essentially resource-dependent. During this phase it is hard to engage in a second task.
During the compilation phase, processes are switching from STM to LTM and a network is
, created. As the skill is proceduralized, becomes automatic, performance becomes resource-
insensitive
Individual differences in general ability are reflected in differences in total resource capacity
Individual differences in general intellectual ability are reflected in differences in individuals’
total attentional-cognitive capacity (undifferentiated pool)
The resource demands of a task, and the relationship between resources and performance,
may thus be mapped onto the relations between abilities and performance.
- Resource-dependent tasks are seen to be general ability-dependent
- Resource-insensitive tasks are similarly expected to be general ability-insensitive
Motivation =
1. The direction of attentional effort
2. The proportion of total attentional effort directed to the task (intensity)
3. The extent to which attentional effort towards the task is maintained over time
(persistence)
Motivation affects choice, action, and ultimately performance through the operation of two
cognitive resource allocation processes (Kanfer & Ackermann, 1989):
1. Distal motivational processes: allows for an evaluation
of the benefits of performance in the task relative to
the anticipated costs of the effort that is spend (goal-
setting phase)
- Perceived performance-utility = the individual
judges the utility (benefit) of performing the new
skill through this function, if this utility is positive...
- Perceived effort-utility = a decision to engage in
the task must also be predicted on a judgement of
the relation between the individual’s effort and
performance (i.e., the perceived performance-
resource function)
2. Proximal motivational processes: determine the distribution of effort across on-task
and off-task activities during task engagement (goal-striving phase). Also include self-
regulatory processes as critical determinants of performance.
- Self-monitoring = the individual’s allocation of attention to specific aspects of
their behavior as well as consequences of that behavior. Attend that one’s
behavior corresponds to one’s goals.
- Self-evaluation = a comparison of current performance with the desired goal.
Individuals check their progress against a standard of reference.
- Self-reactions = include (1) self-satisfaction, which is an affective judgment, and
(2) perceptions of task-specific capabilities, which is self-efficacy
In contrast with distal motivational processing, a critical feature of proximal motivational
processing is that their engagement requires attentional effort (= cognitive resources of
Theme 1: How can employees be motivated to invest effort to perform at a high goal level?
It often assumed that performance is determined by voluntary thought processes, but many
aspects remain outside our volition.
Problem 1 – Resources
Effort = a dynamic construct within an individual in response to individual and environmental
factors (Yeo & Neal, 2008);
- Physical effort: body is stressed due to physical effort or environmental aspects
- Mental effort: limited capacity resource that affects the speed of information
processing (which then affects the desired level of performance). Goes paired with a
subjective feeling of strain
Mental effort is investigated to prevent cognitive overload (lecture Tobias):
- Long term exposure to high work demand may lead to mental overload and medical
problems or mistakes and accidents
- Recommended: job redesign, selection and/or training may be needed
The amount of mental effort necessary for an individual to carry out a mental task is
influenced/moderated by both:
- Task load: task characteristics/task complexity
o Selecting certain stimuli, keeping or manipulating them in working memory,
selecting responses
- State load: state of a person;
o Skills or general executive control can be impaired
o Arousal can be maladjusted by fatigue (ego depletion), intoxication
o Cognitive ability (Yeo & Neal, 2008)
Individuals with low cognitive ability respond stronger to changes in
perceived task difficulty than individuals with high cog. Ability (link to
problem 6)
o Conscientiousness (Yeo & Neal, 2008)
People with high conscientiousness continuously invest effort in the
task (stable), while people low in conscientiousness only increase
effort when the task becomes difficult (flexible)
o Neuroticism (Doorn & Lang, 2010)
Individuals high on withdrawal allocate more effort as a task becomes
more demanding (improve their performance). Volatility individuals
are susceptible to environmental signals, so they may view extra task
demand negatively and react to it by spending effort on off-task
mental activities that do not aid task performance.
o Thinking about how other individuals may assist in one’s goal pursuits can
lead one to reduce the effort expended, presumably due to the perception
that fewer personal resources will be required to succeed (Schmidt et al.,
2013).
,The Role of Rewards (Milyavskaya et al., 2019)
Relates to distal processes in Kanfer & Ackermann model
When engaging in cognitive effort on any given task, a person foregoes opportunities to
engage in other (potentially valuable) tasks – these lost opportunities are termed the
opportunity cost of persisting at an effortful task (Kurzban et al., 2013)
- Mainly tasks that are shorter (+/- 30 min) follow this model
The costs of engaging in further effort are expected to rise as more effort is exerted, with the
value of effort exertion (the cost-benefit ratio) diminishing proportionally. After people exert
large cognitive effort, they exhibit increased sensitivity towards rewards ( not confirmed in
the Milyavskaya et al. study).
Boredom, depletion, and fatigue are seen as stop-signals (= end cognitive effort and engage
in other pursuits/goals)
- Greater and more frequent experiences of boredom have been linked to engaging in
more impulsive, reward-seeking behavior
Resource Theory (Kahneman, 1973)
- Humans have a single pool of limited resources
- Arousal and resources: low arousal means low
capacity
- Conscious processes assume more effort
investments while automated processes require
less
- Task load and effort investment related for given
performance
- Strategies are automatized
The first real theory about resources, however, Kahneman only talks about resource volume
(predominantly perceptual-motor tasks). There’s little talk about resource allocation
(automatic) BUT typically excludes resource strategies
Skill Acquisition and Individual Differences (link to problem 3)
The contribution of ability and motivation factors to task performance depends on the
attentional demands imposed by the task.
A production system perspective to suggest that skill acquisition can be segmented into
three phases:
1. Declarative knowledge (cognitive; general intelligence)
2. Knowledge compilation (associative; perceptual speed)
3. Procedural knowledge (autonomous; psychomotor)
Attentional demands can be associated with the level of skill performance. When tasks of at
least moderate difficulty demand the use of declarative knowledge, performance is
essentially resource-dependent. During this phase it is hard to engage in a second task.
During the compilation phase, processes are switching from STM to LTM and a network is
, created. As the skill is proceduralized, becomes automatic, performance becomes resource-
insensitive
Individual differences in general ability are reflected in differences in total resource capacity
Individual differences in general intellectual ability are reflected in differences in individuals’
total attentional-cognitive capacity (undifferentiated pool)
The resource demands of a task, and the relationship between resources and performance,
may thus be mapped onto the relations between abilities and performance.
- Resource-dependent tasks are seen to be general ability-dependent
- Resource-insensitive tasks are similarly expected to be general ability-insensitive
Motivation =
1. The direction of attentional effort
2. The proportion of total attentional effort directed to the task (intensity)
3. The extent to which attentional effort towards the task is maintained over time
(persistence)
Motivation affects choice, action, and ultimately performance through the operation of two
cognitive resource allocation processes (Kanfer & Ackermann, 1989):
1. Distal motivational processes: allows for an evaluation
of the benefits of performance in the task relative to
the anticipated costs of the effort that is spend (goal-
setting phase)
- Perceived performance-utility = the individual
judges the utility (benefit) of performing the new
skill through this function, if this utility is positive...
- Perceived effort-utility = a decision to engage in
the task must also be predicted on a judgement of
the relation between the individual’s effort and
performance (i.e., the perceived performance-
resource function)
2. Proximal motivational processes: determine the distribution of effort across on-task
and off-task activities during task engagement (goal-striving phase). Also include self-
regulatory processes as critical determinants of performance.
- Self-monitoring = the individual’s allocation of attention to specific aspects of
their behavior as well as consequences of that behavior. Attend that one’s
behavior corresponds to one’s goals.
- Self-evaluation = a comparison of current performance with the desired goal.
Individuals check their progress against a standard of reference.
- Self-reactions = include (1) self-satisfaction, which is an affective judgment, and
(2) perceptions of task-specific capabilities, which is self-efficacy
In contrast with distal motivational processing, a critical feature of proximal motivational
processing is that their engagement requires attentional effort (= cognitive resources of
