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Related external research

Find research to deepen how you understand work.

Starting a habit, listening to another person, turning experience into better judgment. Explore 67 academic publications in eight fields through questions from everyday work.

What the research found → Connections to your work

Each entry includes the study’s participants, methods and conditions. “Connection to this page” is our editorial interpretation informed by the research.

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Learning from experience

8 studies

Research on the conditions for reviewing the results of actions and other people's responses, and using advice and experience in subsequent work.

Meta-analysis and theoretical proposal1996

The Effects of Feedback Interventions on Performance: A Historical Review, a Meta-Analysis, and a Preliminary Feedback Intervention Theory

Feedback improved performance on average, but a substantial number of interventions reduced it. Feedback that shifted attention away from the task and toward the self tended to be less effective.

Connection to this page

Consider consultations and reports that clarify which action and result to examine, and what can change next, rather than evaluating the person.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 607 effect sizes and 23,663 observations concerning feedback interventions, examining differences such as where attention was directed.
Scope and limitations
Tasks and ways of delivering feedback varied. Changing particular words alone cannot be expected to improve performance in every situation.

Avraham N. Kluger; Angelo DeNisi (1996). The Effects of Feedback Interventions on Performance: A Historical Review, a Meta-Analysis, and a Preliminary Feedback Intervention Theory

Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254–284

DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254

Experimental research (two studies)2009

Reflection as a strategy to enhance task performance after feedback

Thinking through and writing concrete examples of behavior after feedback produced greater performance improvement than feedback alone. Reflection without feedback did not improve performance.

Connection to this page

Go beyond receiving advice: review what happened when it was tried, and bring those results into the next consultation.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Two studies with 640 and 488 participants compared combinations of feedback and reflection in a web-based work simulation.
Scope and limitations
The findings concern a work simulation. The effects also differed with participants' engagement in reflection and their orientation toward learning.

Frederik Anseel; Filip Lievens; Eveline Schollaert (2009). Reflection as a strategy to enhance task performance after feedback

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110(1), 23–35

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.05.003

Meta-analysis2013

Do Team and Individual Debriefs Enhance Performance? A Meta-Analysis

Reviewing experience after action improved subsequent performance on average. Alignment with the task's purpose, structure and support for the review were related to effectiveness.

Connection to this page

Briefly bring together the purpose of the work, actual actions, the other person's response and what to change next.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined the effects of debriefing across 46 samples and 2,136 participants, covering real work and simulations, medical and nonmedical settings, and individuals and teams.
Scope and limitations
The findings average studies with different settings and evaluation methods. They do not establish a uniform improvement rate from workplace reflection alone.

Scott I. Tannenbaum; Christopher P. Cerasoli (2013). Do Team and Individual Debriefs Enhance Performance? A Meta-Analysis

Human Factors, 55(1), 231–245

DOI: 10.1177/0018720812448394

Quasi-experimental field study2005

After-Event Reviews: Drawing Lessons From Successful and Failed Experience

The group reviewing both success and failure improved subsequent performance more than the group reviewing failure alone. Understanding of successful events also became richer through repeated review.

Connection to this page

Record not only problems but also what helped when the other person's work progressed, so that the conditions can inform future work.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
During soldiers' repeated navigation exercises, compared reviewing failures alone with reviewing both successes and failures.
Scope and limitations
This quasi-experiment used a particular military exercise. The same effects cannot simply be assumed for sales, planning or management work.

Shmuel Ellis; Inbar Davidi (2005). After-Event Reviews: Drawing Lessons From Successful and Failed Experience

Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 857–871

DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.857

Meta-analysis2008

Effectiveness of error management training: A meta-analysis

Training that used errors as opportunities to learn helped skill acquisition and transfer on average. Benefits were particularly large for new tasks that differed in structure from the practice tasks.

Connection to this page

Secure a clear scope for decisions and appropriate support, try something small, and use unexpected responses to inform the next judgment.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Compared training that encourages learning through attempts and errors with approaches such as step-by-step error avoidance, across 24 studies and 2,183 participants.
Scope and limitations
The studies provided practice settings for learning. They do not recommend errors that could cause serious harm in real work.

Nina Keith; Michael Frese (2008). Effectiveness of error management training: A meta-analysis

Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 59–69

DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.59

Meta-analysis2020

The Power of Feedback Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of Educational Feedback Research

Feedback helped learning on average, but effects varied considerably. Its usefulness depended on the information it contained, with differences between cognitive and motor outcomes and motivational and behavioral outcomes.

Connection to this page

Consider the value of reporting what was tried and what changed, beyond simply saying that something went well.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 435 educational studies, 994 effect sizes and more than 61,000 learners to examine feedback effects and differences between conditions.
Scope and limitations
The review combined heterogeneous interventions mainly in education. It did not directly measure advice or reporting in everyday work.

Benedikt Wisniewski; Klaus Zierer; John Hattie (2020). The Power of Feedback Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of Educational Feedback Research

Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 3087

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03087

Meta-analysis2021

When Problem Solving Followed by Instruction Works: Evidence for Productive Failure

Overall, attempting problems before receiving instruction was more effective. Effects depended on fidelity to the design, learners' ages and the skills being learned; some conditions favored instruction first.

Connection to this page

Bring questions and other people's responses from an initial attempt into a consultation, then reconsider what the advice means.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Across 53 studies and 166 comparisons, examined problem solving followed by instruction versus instruction followed by problem solving.
Scope and limitations
The research concerns educational designs that include subsequent instruction. It does not recommend unsupported failure or trying every workplace task alone before seeking help.

Tanmay Sinha; Manu Kapur (2021). When Problem Solving Followed by Instruction Works: Evidence for Productive Failure

Review of Educational Research, 91(5), 761–798

DOI: 10.3102/00346543211019105

Meta-analysis2010

Transfer of Training: A Meta-Analytic Review

Motivation and supportive workplace conditions were positively associated with using learning at work. Relationships differed between skills whose use varies with the situation, such as leadership, and skills such as operating procedures.

Connection to this page

Alongside introducing knowledge and actions, provide time to try them, necessary materials and support, and check whether learning was used in actual work.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 89 empirical studies of transfer—using learning in other tasks or jobs—covering individual characteristics, workplace conditions and training methods.
Scope and limitations
Much of the evidence summarizes associations with predictors and cannot establish causality. Ratings from the same person or measurement setting sometimes produced larger associations.

Brian D. Blume; J. Kevin Ford; Timothy T. Baldwin; Jason L. Huang (2010). Transfer of Training: A Meta-Analytic Review

Journal of Management, 36(4), 1065–1105

DOI: 10.1177/0149206309352880

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