Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

70 E DUARDO S ALAS AND K EVIN C. STAGL
Define cognitive and affective states
Taskwork and teamwork processes are not executed in isolation. As employees enact performance
processes (e.g. situation assessment) they dynamically draw upon and revise
their cognitive (e.g. mental models, situation awareness) and affective (e.g. self - effi cacy,
motivation) states. Designers charged with creating training solutions must describe and
frame these states, specify why and how they enable effective performance, and forge
instructional experiences that appropriately target them for development. For example,
both the content (e.g. declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge) and types of mental
models (e.g. situation, task, equipment) should be delineated. Subject matter experts
asked to complete an event - based knowledge - elicitation process can provide information
that helps identify the states that should be targeted for development by training (Fowlkes,
Salas, Baker, Cannon - Bowers, and Stout, 2000 ).
Once essential states are identified, it is important to determine if, and the extent to
which, cognition and affect must be shared or be complementary to enable effective performance
in the workplace. This is a particularly acute concern in team training settings
because scholars often invoke shared mental models and shared affect to explain how
collectives execute both routine and adaptive team performance (Burke, Stagl, Salas,
Pierce, and Kendall, 2006 ). Moreover, cultivating shared affect via training simulations
can help prepare teams to navigate even unprecedented challenges (see Klein, Stagl,
Salas, Parker, and Van Eynde, 2007 ).
The unfolding compositional or compilational process via which the content and structure
of cognition and affect emerge to the unit level should be clearly specified because it
provides insight about the kinds of instructional methods, features, and tools required to
facilitate the development of team states. For example, recent meta - analytic evidence suggests
that cross - training teams is particularly well suited for imparting shared taskwork and
teamwork mental models by providing members with knowledge about their teammates ’
tasks, roles, and responsibilities (Stagl, Klein, Rosopa, DiazGranados, Salas, and Burke,
unpublished manuscript).
Define KSA attributes
In addition to framing the core processes and cognitive and affective states that collectively
com prise affective performance, training practitioners must also define an attribute model.
Attri bute models specify the direct determinants of performance such as knowledge, skills, and
attitudes (KSAs). Training designers should leverage structured attribute inventories, skill
repositories, and even performance records to shed light on the KSAs that should be targeted
for development by a training solution. For example, the declarative (i.e. what), procedural
(i.e. how), and strategic (i.e. why) knowledge required to effectively execute performance processes
must be defined. Strategic knowledge is especially important because it allows trainees
to understand why and when to apply declarative knowledge (Kozlowski, Gully, Brown,
Salas, Smith, and Nason, 2001 ). This example illustrates that KSAs must first be identifi ed
and then ordered in a sequence from those that are more fundamental to those that are more
complex in order to maximize the benefit of sequenced learning opportunities.
Training designers should be cognizant that not all of the myriad of characteristics and
capabilities can be targeted for development via a single training solution; and that not