IDENTIFICATION OF UNINTENDED EFFECTS IN EXPERIENTIAL LABORATORY EXERCISES Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 186 IDENTIFICATION OF UNINTENDED EFFECTS IN EXPERIENTIAL LABORATORY EXERCISES Richard E. Dutton, University of South Florida INTRODUCTION One of the significant goals of experiential exercises is to allow participants to hove past statements of how they would behave in certain circumstances to the behavior itself when placed in situations which simulate those circumstances. More academicians using experiential material and working in behavioral laboratories are producing research articles. This increasing stream of research attempts to use many aspects of traditional models of research. Some Unintended Effects of Traditional! Experimental Research A variety of unintended effects arising from the temporary systems created by research have been identified by Argyris (1964). Briefly, these are: 1. Physical withdrawal which results in absenteeism and turnover. 2. Psychological withdrawal while retaining physically in the research situation. (Under these conditions the subject is willing to let the researcher manipulate his behavior, usually for a price.) 3. Overt hostility toward the research. (Openly fighting the research rarely occurs because the subjects are ‘volunteers” and feel some pressure to participate,) 4. Covert hostility as a safer adaptive mechanism. This includes such behavior as knowingly giving incorrect answers, being a difficult subject, second-guessing the research design and trying to circumvent it in some fashion, producing the minimally accepted amount of behavior, coercing others to produce minimally, and disbelief and mistrust of the researcher. 5. Emphasis on monetary rewards as the reason for participating. 6. “Unionization” of the subjects. Some question whether strong feelings would come out in experiments (or exercises) because the time frame of the task is short and the participants are aware of the temporary nature of the event. However, emotional involvement is not a function of time-exposure but of values already possessed and the intensity of the tasks undertaken, As we believe when we undertake such work - - the experiment and/or exercise is intended to be involving. Indeed, generalizability of results is dependent on ‘genuine” participation (Berkowitz and Donnerstein, 1982). Sales (1966) points out the brevity argument is not valid . . . the entire science of experimental social psychology rests upon the assumption that experimental periods are sufficiently lengthy for treatments to “take”, an assumption which is supported in every significant finding obtained in the experimental laboratory” (p. 281). Unintended Effects In Experimental Exercises Little systematic research exists regarding strategies used by participants, although anectodatal evidence is commonplace when researchers discuss their work! Several unintended effects can be cited based on discussions with colleagues. These associates are, for the most part, members of the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning (ABSEL). Some of the following reactions may be unintended, but completely unanticipated. Some participants work hard at: 1. Second-guessing the instructor and trying to beat him/her at his/her own game. 2. Participants come to the sessions expecting to be deceived. The challenge for them is to guess what the deception is. 3, Participants (especially those who do not like or respect the instructor) may derail the exercise so skillfully that the instructor may be unaware of the maneuver. 4. Some participants, while appearing alert and interested, are apathetic and indifferent about the results. They simply complete the process as a bothersome “requirement.’ 5. A few participants start the project/exercise in good faith, but at some point in the process they emotionally disengage. Sometimes this occurs for an ethical or some value-loaded reason. When the latter situation prevails, the change appears to be abrupt and may be articulated by the participant at: the end of the exercise. 6. If participation takes place in small groups, it is quite easy for uninvolved people to “float” on the efforts of others in the group. It is very unlikely that the ‘floater” will be the spokesperson for the group. 7. This writer has noted (1979) that debriefing is often incomplete, hurried, and poorly designed. Much of this result takes place because the instructor is very aware of what has happened in the past and what was supposed to happen in the present exercise. The participants are much less sophisticated about the event, which has just taken place; therefore, they are likely to miss subtle issues and implications. Remedies For Some Identified Unintended Effects If the unintended consequences of rigorous research rests in the degree of control the leader has over the participants (subject), and his/her resultant dependence, submissiveness, and short time perspective, --then theoretically it would be wise to reduce the leader’s control over the participants. It would also be helpful to give the participants greater influence and encourage a longer time perspective. One of the goals of the experiential laboratory approach is to generate personal commitment on the part of the participants. Subjects and participants are much more motivated to sincerely involve themselves in the project at hand when they believe it is in their interest to do so. Projects and exercises should, therefore, be designed so that the subjects/participants can gain something beyond simple feedback. This is their plea for relevant experience and useful results. Reference list available on request. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's