Task demands, task interest, and task performance: implications for human subjects research and practicing what we preach.

Full Abstract

Through the continuous investigation of humans in organizations, we have learned much about motivation, attitudes, and performance. For example, Yukl and others have helped increase our understanding of influence tactics and the effect they have on the performance of subordinates, supervisors, and peers. Some tactics (and combinations of tactics) lead to resistance, some lead to compliance, and some lead to commitment. In this study, we raise the question of whether or not we incorporate our knowledge of these research findings into the design, implementation, and interpretation of our own research studies that require the participation of human subjects. In a survey of 134 subjects from a previous social science study, we found that performance varied across the sample, consistent with the concepts of resistance, compliance, and commitment. In addition, the variance in performance could be explained, in part, by task interest and perceived task demands. Implications are discussed.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Eveleth, Daniel M (DM); Pillutla, Arun (A);

Affiliation: Department of Business, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3161, USA. eveleth(-atsign-)uidaho.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Ethics & behavior (Ethics Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-; vol 13 (issue 2) : pp 153-72

Dates: Created 2003/10/10; Completed 2003/10/21; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 14552313, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Humans
Informed Consent - statistics & numerical data
Motivation
Research Design
Research Subjects - psychology
Social Sciences
Students
Universities

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.