Browsing by Subject "Expertise"

Expertise is regarded as the most important asset for groups working on knowledge-intensive tasks. This dissertation advances a multi-dimensional conception of group expertise that includes depth, breadth and variety as three distinct dimensions, and develops a model of the joint effect of the three dimensions on knowledge sharing and group performance. Two empirical studies test different components of the model. Using data on 174 groups from a Fortune 500 telecommunications company, one study supports the hypothesis that depth of group expertise will have a less positive effect on group performance as breadth of group expertise increases, particularly when groups engage in a low level of external task process. Using data on knowledge sharing networks among 44 employees of a supply chain service organization, the second study probes into dyadic interactions underlying group process, and tests how individual variety of experience, functional department experience (proxy for depth of expertise at the individual level), and dyadic functional difference (proxy for breadth of expertise at the dyadic level) affect dyadic knowledge sharing. Results show that individual variety of experience improves ease of knowledge sharing, and that the negative effect of functional department experience on ease of knowledge sharing is mitigated by individual variety of experience. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are considered, and directions for future studies are discussed.

Consumers’ beliefs can influence enjoyment via beliefs about a product (e.g., whether a wine is believed to be high quality) and explored beliefs about themselves (e.g., where the consumers believes they have the expertise to appreciate any high qualities in a wine). Across nine experiments in five domains (e.g. film, tea, wine) we seek to better understand this latter and far less understood component by experimentally altering people’s subjective expertise (beliefs about ability in a consumption domain) independent of their real expertise and independent of real or framed differences in products’ qualities. We find subjective expertise alone generally increases two sources of enjoyments, item enjoyment (the enjoyment of an item’s qualities such as liking an item’s flavor) and process enjoyment (the enjoyment of consumer processes such as critically evaluating an item’s flavor). Importantly though, when consumption items are perceived to be lower quality, the subjective expertise effect on item enjoyment is eliminated but remains positive for process enjoyment. Additionally, subjective expertise leads consumers to engage in more actions and effort to improve their consumption (e.g. stirring a drink, learning more about a consumption item). This project improves general understanding of consumer expertise and consumer beliefs, finds subjective expertise has unique and often diverging effects on two sources of enjoyment important to everyday consumption, and demonstrates how and when subjective expertise can be altered to effectively enhance consumer enjoyment.

Visual search, the process of detecting relevant items within an environment, is a vital skill required for navigating one's visual environment as well as for careers, such as radiology and airport security, that rely upon accurate searching. Research over the course of several decades has established that visual search requires the integration of low- and high-level cognitive processes, including sensory analysis, attentional allocation, target discrimination, and decision-making. Search abilities are malleable and vary in accordance with long-term experiences, direct practice, and contextual factors in the immediate environment; however, the mechanisms responsible for changes in search performance remain largely unclear. A series of studies examine variation in visual search abilities and performance and aim to identify the underlying mechanisms.

To assess differences associated with long-term experiences, visual search performance is compared between laypersons (typically undergraduates) and specific populations, including radiologists and avid action video game players. Behavioral markers of search processes are used to elucidate causes of enhanced search performance. To assess differences associated with direct practice, laypersons perform a visual search task over five consecutive days, and electrophysiological activity is recorded from the scalp on the first and last days of the protocol. Electrophysiological markers associated with specific stages of processing are analyzed to determine neurocognitive changes contributing to improved performance. To assess differences associated with contextual factors, laypersons are randomly assigned to experimental conditions in which they complete a visual search task within a particular framework or in the presence or absence of motivation, feedback, and/or time pressure.

Results demonstrate that search abilities can improve through experience and direct training, but the mechanisms underlying effects in each case are different. Long-term experiences are associated with strategic attentional allocation, but direct training can improve low-level sensory analysis in addition to higher-level processes. Results also demonstrate nuanced effects of experience and context. On searches that contain multiple targets, task framework impacts accuracy for detecting additional targets after one target has been identified. The combination of motivation and feedback enhances accuracy for both single- and multiple-target searches. Implications for cognitive theory and applications to occupational protocols are discussed.