You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

ACTION IDENTIFICATION THEORY IN EFFECTIVE VERSUS INEFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1987
Summary:
Performance effectiveness was explored from the perspective of action identification theory. The theory holds that any behavior can be identified in many ways, from depictions emphasizing the action's details (low level identities) to those emphasizing the action's effects and self-evaluative implications (high level identities). For optimal performance, the theory suggests that easy actions should be indentified in relatively high level terms, whereas more difficult actions should be identified in lower level terms. This general prediction was tested for self-perceived effectiveness in "giving a speech." Subjects delivered a prepared speech to either a sympathetic audience (easy task) or an antagonistic audience (difficult task). As predicted, a focus on the lower level identities promoted greater self-perceived effectiveness (e.g., persuasion) for the difficult than for the easy task, whereas a focus on higher level identities (e.g, self-evaluation) proved more optimal for the easy task.
Title: ACTION IDENTIFICATION THEORY IN EFFECTIVE VERSUS INEFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE.
163 views
54 downloads
Name(s): SOMOZA, MARIA P.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1987
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 98 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Performance effectiveness was explored from the perspective of action identification theory. The theory holds that any behavior can be identified in many ways, from depictions emphasizing the action's details (low level identities) to those emphasizing the action's effects and self-evaluative implications (high level identities). For optimal performance, the theory suggests that easy actions should be indentified in relatively high level terms, whereas more difficult actions should be identified in lower level terms. This general prediction was tested for self-perceived effectiveness in "giving a speech." Subjects delivered a prepared speech to either a sympathetic audience (easy task) or an antagonistic audience (difficult task). As predicted, a focus on the lower level identities promoted greater self-perceived effectiveness (e.g., persuasion) for the difficult than for the easy task, whereas a focus on higher level identities (e.g, self-evaluation) proved more optimal for the easy task.
Identifier: 14382 (digitool), FADT14382 (IID), fau:11185 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1987.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Subject(s): Performance
Social psychology
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14382
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.