Effect of Training in Verbal Self-Guidance on Performance Effectiveness in a MBA Program, The

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Jan 2006 by Brown, Travor C, Latham, Gary P

Experimental conditions. A 2 (VSG/control) by 2 (goal setting/no goal setting) factorial design was used in this experiment. All participants were shown the BOS and informed that the interpersonal skills contained on them were important for performing well in the MBA program. Given the use of teams in the business school, behaviours on the BOS were labeled teamwork skills. Immediately following the presentation of the BOS, participants were invited to participate in the study. Specifically, they were informed that: a) the purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of different approaches to performing effectively in the MBA program; b) it was important not to share training program details with other people as it could cause contamination; and c) we randomly assigned participants to conditions in order to control for extraneous variables. This was done without regard to a person's team as the unit of analysis in this study was the individual. At no time did we share our hypotheses with participants or faculty members.

Goal setting. Participants (n = 62) in the goal-setting condition met in a large room for approximately 30 minutes. There they were explicitly asked to set a specific, difficult goal for the BOS score that they would work to attain as individuals. They then met in small groups of four to six people to discuss their rationale for their goal because discussing one's goal can increase goal commitment (Locke & Latham, 1990). At the end of the discussion, they were informed that they could modify their goals based on this conversation. Goal difficulty and goal commitment were assessed at this time. We did not require a goal for GPA as all of them wanted a "perfect" 4.0.

Participants in the no goal setting, do your best (DYE) condition (n = 64) met in a separate room. They, too, received the BOS. Rather than setting a specific, difficult goal, they were urged to do their best to demonstrate the interpersonal skills listed on the BOS for the reasons cited earlier. They then met in groups of four to six people to discuss the importance of doing their best to demonstrate the BOS items. Consistent with previous goal-setting studies (see Locke & Latham, 1990), these people did not complete questionnaires concerning a goal as they were not in a goal-setting condition.

Training in VSG. Three weekly 90-minute VSG training sessions were provided. In the first session, immediately following the goal-setting intervention, the participants (n = 60) discussed ways that their positive (i.e., functional) and negative (i.e., dysfunctional) self-talk affected their behaviour in the MBA program. Each person identified three dysfunctional self-statements concerning their performance. These statements were the focus of training in VSG.

Consistent with Meichenbaum (1975,1977), people were taught to change their dysfunctional self-statements to functional self-talk. A three-step process was used. Specifically, they were trained to become aware of negative self-statements (e.g., "I just can't seem to motivate my team-mates"), then discover for themselves specific ways they could improve the situation, and finally to develop positive self-statements to guide their actions (e.g., "I have already learned to give positive feedback...! can use positive feedback to energize my team-mates.").