Manipulation of Training or Development Process - Term Paper Example

Part Managing Anxiety to Help People to Learn in Training, Coaching and Instruction Contemporary stress theory explicitly or implicitly identifies the elements played by the following psychological processes; emotion, perception, and cognition. These psychological processes determine how a person recognises, experiences and responds to a stressful situation. They also attempt to explain how an individual copes with the experience and how it can affect their physical, psychological and social health. Contemporary theories of stress treat stress as a negative emotional experience that occurs when an individual perceives himself or herself subject to demands that are excessive or demands which the individual is unable to cope with. Experiences of stress may change the way a person thinks about everything, they way they behave and their pattern of physiological activities. The changes under certain circumstances can lead to the increase of risks associated with psychological, social and physical ill-health and at times behaviours that are inappropriate (Houdmont and Leka, 2010, p37). Stress and Performance Stress can be defined as the non-specific response by the body as a result of any demand made on it. Demand in this case is defined as a stressor which may arise from a stimulus or an event. Stressors come in many different ways and they range from time pressure, extreme pressure, and extreme temperature to physical assault. When an individual is exposed to such a stressor, a physiological stress response occurs. The response can be measured through observation by different measures such as dilated pupils, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure according to Hosek, Kavanagh and Miller (2006, p23). Physiological manifestations of stress are identical regardless of the type of external demand but its effect on performance varies among individuals. The effect on performance ranges from physical impairments and cognitive reactions. Stress-performance relationship models indicate quite different scenarios. There is U-shaped and negative linear stress-relationship models. In the U-shaped model, performance improves when the stimulus reaches a moderate level and decreases when the stimulus levels increase beyond the moderate levels. Although this is the case, individual differences that exist may alter the shape of the curve. According to a research done, evidence showed that an inverted-U relationship exists in the industrial sector especially on job performance. In a negative linear relationship, stress regardless of the level reduces work performance through draining the person’s energy, time and concentration. Optimal performance can occur at high levels of stress but in a case where there is little or absence of stress performance may be poor (Hosek, et al, 2006, p24). Yerks and Dodson hypothesized a curvilinear relationship and they stated that: low levels of stress can create minimal arousal resulting in poor task performance and when the stress levels are increased to optimal levels, arousal increases to optimal levels and hence performance is enhanced (Korn and Sheikh, 1994, p136). Situations when it is Helpful to Create a Stress Condition A normal task without a stressor at times does not improve performance when the task is later done under conditions of stress. Skill training can reduce the effects of stress by generating an over learned behaviour. This means that the individual gets used to the stressor and when such a stressor emerges, the individual is able to cope with it thus creating little or no stress. Thus the performance of the individual is not affected much. The practice (well-rehearsed tasks) has a number of benefits. For one, the individual does not under-perform under conditions of stress. Secondly, the individual requires less attention and improves the person’s sense of control and predictability. This means that as the behaviour becomes more practiced, cognitive load reduces and accuracy and speed of task performance is increased. This is a common training to most recruits who are handling dangerous tasks such as in the military and companies that deal with dangerous and lethal chemical agents according to Driskell and Salas (1996, p108). Are some People more Anxious as Learners than Others? When faced with an unfamiliar situation, people tend to be anxious. Trait anxiety and state anxiety are common characteristics in a normal individual according to Adar (2007, p41). A person with a high trait anxiety tends to be anxious throughout his or her life in most situations even to situations that do not pose much threat to persons with lower trait anxiety (Kausler, Kausler and Krupsaw, 2007, p40). State anxiety at most times is temporary and entirely depends on the situation that the individual is facing. It is mostly manifested when the situation threatens the individual’s self-esteem. During an examination or training some people are more anxious than the others and in this case they have a high degree of state anxiety. Manifestations of state anxiety include feeling nervous and agitated. Physical manifestations include heavy perspiration and irregular breathing. A high level of either of the two types of anxiety tends to hinder performance when a task is being performed. However, a moderate amount of the anxiety can improve performance by forcing the individual’s concentration on the task being performed (Kausler, Kausler and Krupsaw, 2007, p41). Openness to experience is vital in the prediction of training proficiency. It is imperative to note that people who are calm and secure perform better than people who are insecure and anxious. Those who score high on emotional stability tend to retain their jobs. Emotional stability describes the ability of an individual to withstand stress. People who possess positive emotional stability tend to be calm, secure and self-confident. Robbins (2003, p88) states that those with negative emotional stability tend to be anxious, insecure and depressed. Thus, according to Robbins, in any training the possibility of finding individuals who are anxious than the others is high. However, their performance compared to those who are not anxious is quite different. Those who are high performers have a positive emotional stability. A person’s interest and fascination with new things or experiences is described as openness to experience. Creativity, curiosity and exceptional artistic sensitivity are found in people who are extremely open. Those who are not open tend to reserve themselves with the familiar things (Robbins, 2003, p88). Introduction of a new concept in a training programme or a development process is met with two diverse people; those willing to accept the concept and those who would rather stay without the new concept. Situations When a Trainee Feels More Pressure than At Other Times There are times when it is a must for a trainee to be exposed to training in high-stress environments. This is called stress training and the trainee is exposed to high-stress environments that include specific task conditions such as distractions, ambiguity, time pressure and increased task load according to Driskell and Johnston (1998, p193). The training requires specific responses such as flexibility to adapt to changing environmental contingencies and new environmental conditions. The conditions the trainees are exposed are entirely different from the normal environmental performance conditions (non-stress conditions) such as a quiet office with less distractions and a few workload. Stress training is common in most industries, in the military, aviation, sports and in other places where effective performance is required under stress conditions (Driskell and Johnston, 1998, p193). Research has indicated that some tasks can not be performed better under normal training procedures and thus the tasks have to be performed under stress conditions. The main purpose of stress training is to sustain effective performance of an individual in an environment with high stress. The training enhances familiarity with such an environment and enables the individual to gain skills necessary for effective work performance under stressful environment (Driskell and Johnston, 1998, p193). There are some cases where a learner is given more time or an opportunity to reflect on the actions of the task in order to improve performance. This is so in tasks like those in information technology. Information technology provides multi-sensory experiences such as auditory, visual and at times haptic and tactile cues. Creating a virtual environment during training provides the learners with the opportunity to reflect on their performance (Brna and Romano, 2010, p265). Manipulation of Training or Development Process When training or a development process is manipulated, responses to stress can be positive or negative. The trainee can experience more stress or less stress. There are a number of methods that can be used to alter or manipulate training process to effectively reduce stress. They include; goal setting, task redesign, team building, psychiatric care, participative management, meditation, deep relaxation, interpersonal skills training and hypnosis. However, most of these methods are used to treat after effects of stress or after facing intense situations (Ok-Choon and Teague, 1996, p4). Task redesign can adversely affect stress responses from an individual. Changing the task can reduce or increase an individual’s stress. Changes in feedback, task identity, autonomy, skill variety and internal motivation enhance the performance of a worker. Redesign of the task primarily focuses on the task rather than the job itself. Task redesigning changes the conditions of the work and thus when a worker is provided with a task that has little or no information, motivational problems arise (Office of Technology Assessment, 1985, p136). Team building and changes in the working environment can be used to reduce stress related problems that are linked with decision making and problem solving. Environment is a vital component that can be used to moderate problems that arise from stress and other things such as communication, problem solving and decision making. An individual working in a life-threatening situation can change the training situations to alleviate effects of stress on the performance. Changes can include; use of familiar elements and getting rid of the nonessential ones, displaying information that is necessary and highlighting and integrating displays (Huey and Wickens, 1993, p267). Goal setting can be adopted to alleviate the effects of stress on performance. Goal setting increase the performer’s motivation and confidence. It alleviates anxiety and thus improving and enhancing performance. Goal setting affects performance in four ways: attention of the individual is directed, regulates the amount of effort put in by the individual in a given task, ensures that the effort is sustained till the goal is reached and lastly it motivates the individuals to develop strategies for reaching their goals (Hill, Honeybourne and Moors, 2004, p328). When an individual fails to communicate his or her emotional reactions and behaviour intentions to other people, interpersonal conflict persists in the individual. Such conflicts result to hostile reactions and hatred. The conflicts at times are accompanied by stress responses that can affect the physiological and psychological well-being of the individual. Manipulation of the cognitive, emotional, behavioural and interpersonal processes can result in increased sense of personal control, self-efficacy and mastery in the management of anxiety and mood (Ader 686). For athletes to perform to their potential, they must be able to handle well physical stress, mental stress and emotional stress. The ability to manage the three kinds of stresses will make them stronger, and more responsive to these stresses. At most times, coaches manipulate training for better performance. Many coaches have realized the need to be careful during training stress especially when they have to manipulate it to achieve better performance. Training overload encompasses manipulation of the duration, intensity and frequency of training stress (Voight, 2002). In sports, there is a correlation between stress state and demand recoveries. In limited resources like time stress increases and is unable to meet the increased recovery demands, thus the individual (athlete) experiences more stress. The individuals may be stressed to an extent that they fail to find means of adequate recovery or better options to deal with the situation. When stress accumulates burnout symptoms develop and the individual’s performance is affected as well (Kellmann, 2002, p11). Conditions of training when they change as in overtraining, stress is inevitable. Overtraining is described as a systematic schedule of training that involves continuous intense physical activities. It is considered as an integral part in endurance training. Overtraining can result to a condition known as regressive training-stress syndrome and this eventually causes underperformance and psychophysiological dysfunctions. The syndrome development is different among individuals. It is brought about by overtraining and under-recovery. Because of the excessive training, fatigue results followed by other syndromes of distress, burnout and staleness (Voight, 2002). When staleness develops, the athlete is unable to maintain standard training procedures and ultimately unable to attain previous performance results (Kellmann, 2002, p13). For those in the military, stress training is important in helping the military to acclimatize to new environments. It is accomplished by deploying the military to an area similar to the battle area for a period of time prior to the battle. However, even after acclimatization, maintaining military performance in the area sometimes becomes very difficult. Performance in these areas becomes very difficult and hazardous to the health of the military. The performance is more so affected by the psychological stress to deal with an entirely strange culture, language and other aspects of life that are completely strange to them (Hancock and Szalma, 2008, p23). Part 2 Managing Anxiety to Help People to Learn In Training, Coaching and Instruction Stress and Performance Stress can be defined as the non-specific response by the body as a result of any demand made on it. According to Hosek, Kavanagh and Miller (2006, p23), demand is a stressor which arises from a stimulus or an event. Stressors come different ways and they range from time pressure, extreme pressure, and extreme temperature to physical assault. Exposure to a stressor results into a physiological stress response. The response can be physically observed as dilated pupils, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. The effect of stress on performance ranges from physical impairments and cognitive reactions. Stress and performance relationship can be explained through U-shaped and negative linear stress-relationship models. In the U-shaped model, performance improves when the stimulus reaches a moderate level and decreases when the stimulus levels increase beyond the moderate levels. In a negative linear relationship, stress regardless of the level reduces work performance through draining the person’s energy, time and concentration. Situations When It Is Helpful To Create a Stress Condition When a normal task is done without a stressor, most of the times it does not improve the performance of the task when it is later done under conditions of stress. This brings in the concept of skill training. Skill training reduces the effects of stress by generating an over learned behaviour. It is a common training in military schools and industries that deal with dangerous and lethal chemical agents. Are some People more Anxious as Learners than Others? All human beings when faced with an unfamiliar situation tend to be anxious. Anxiety is of two types: trait anxiety and state anxiety. A trait anxiety individual tends to be anxious throughout his or her life in most situations even to situations that do not pose much threat to persons with lower trait anxiety. Whereas trait anxiety is permanent, state anxiety at most times is temporary and entirely depends on the situation that the individual is facing. It is mostly manifested when the situation threatens the individual’s self-esteem. When both state anxiety and trait anxiety are in high levels, performance of any task is hindered and there is likelihood of the task being performed poorly. There are some cases where a moderate amount of the anxiety can improve performance by forcing the individual’s concentration on the task being performed. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, secure and self-confident and those with negative emotional stability tend to be anxious, insecure and depressed. Performance in both cases is different. Emotional stable people perform better than those with emotional instability. Situations when a Trainee Feels More Pressure than at other Times There are scenarios where a trainee must be exposed to high levels of stress like in sports, military, aviation and most industries. This is called stress training and it involves a trainee being exposed to high-stress environments. The main purpose of stress training is to maintain an effective performance of an individual in a high-stress environment. The training enhances familiarity with such an environment and enables the individual to gain skills necessary for effective work performance under stressful environments. Manipulation of Training or Development Process When training or a development process is manipulated, responses to stress can be positive or negative. The trainee can experience more stress or less stress. Some of the methods used to manipulate training or a development process include: goal setting, task redesign, team building, psychiatric care, participative management, meditation, deep relaxation, interpersonal skills training and hypnosis. Task redesign involves changing the task in order to reduce or increase an individual’s stress. When changes are made in the feedback, task identity, autonomy, skill variety and internal motivation, the performance of a worker is enhanced. Task redesigning is more of changing the task rather changing the job. Team building is used to reduce stress related problems that are linked with decision making and problem solving. Environment is vital in moderating problems that arise from stress and other things such as communication, problem solving and decision making. Goal setting can be adopted to alleviate the effects of stress on performance. Goal setting can increase the performer’s motivation and confidence through four ways: directing the attention of the individual, regulating the amount of effort put in by the individual in a given task, ensuring that the effort is sustained until the goal is reached and lastly by motivating the individual to develop strategies to accomplish his or her goals. Interpersonal skills training are very important in managing one’s stress. When it lacks, personal conflict arises and are accompanied by stress responses that can affect the physiological and psychological well-being of the individual. Military and sports are examples of tasks where manipulation of the training processes is common. Both situations employ the use of stress training to achieve maximum and effective performance. Works Cited Adar, Robert. Psychoneuroimmunology, Volume 1. Burlington, MA: Academic Press, 2007. Print. Brna, P. & Romano, D. M. “Presence and Reflection in Training: Support for Learning to Improve Quality Decision-Making Skills under Time Limitations.” CyberPsychology & Behavior. 4.2 (2001): 265-277. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. Driskell, J. E. & Johnston, J. H. “Stress Exposure Training.” Making Decisions under Stress: Implications for Individual and Team Training. Ed. Cannon-Bowers, J. E. & Salas, E. Washington, DC: APA, 1998. 191-217. Print. Driskell, J. E. & Salas, E. Stress and Human Performance. London: Routledge, 1996. Print. Hancock, P. A. & Szalma, J. L. Performance under Stress. Hampshire, GU: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008. Print. Hill, M., Honeybourne, J. & Moors, H. Advanced Pe & Sport. United Kingdom: Nelson Thornes, 2004. Print. Hosek, J. R., Kavanagh, J. & Miller, L. How Deployments Affect Service Members. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 2006. Print. Houdmont, J. & Leka, S. Occupational Health Psychology. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print. Huey, B. M. & Wickens, C. D. workload transition: implications for individual and team performance. Washington, DC: National Academic Press, 1993. Print. Kausler, C. B., Kausler, D. H. & Kruspaw, J. A. The Essential Guide to Aging in the Twenty-First Century: Mind, Body, and Behaviour. Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2007. Print. Kellmann, M. Enhancing Recovery: Preventing Underperformance in Athletes. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2002. Print. Korn, E. R. & Sheikh, A. A. Imagery in Sports and Physical Performance. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, Inc., 1994. Print. Office of Technology Assessment. Automation of America’s Offices, 1985-2000. Diane Publishing, 1985. Print. Ok-Choon, P. & Teague, R. C. “Environmental intensity, stress, and training.” United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioural and Social Sciences. 1039 (1996): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. Robbins, Stephen. Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa, 2003. Print. Voight, Mike. “Combating Training-Stress Syndromes.” The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. 73 (2002): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. Read More