A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SIMULATION USERS: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRESS AND HUMAN SUBJECTS GUIDELINES Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 141 A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SIMULATION USERS: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRESS AND HUMAN SUBJECTS GUIDELINES L. Michael Couvillion, State University of New York at Geneseo Thomas F. Pray, State University of New York at Geneseo Daniel R. Strang, State University of New York at Geneseo ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a survey concerning the H.E.W. Human Subjects Guidelines. A questionnaire was sent to each present and former ABSEL member. Three dimensions were considered in the survey and the paper: member’s awareness, opinions, and actions or intended actions to the Guidelines. Frequency distributions and open-ended responses are presented. The results indicate the diversity of present and former ABSEL members with respect to these three dimensions. Introduction This paper analyzes the results of a Human Subjects Issue Survey which was mailed to all present and former ABSEL members. The paper is, in part, based upon the works of Faria and Nulsen (1), Strang, Crino, and Pray (3), and Sewall (2). Faria and Nulsen (1: 25) have described the rapid growth and popularity of business (ongoing work grout type) simulations and conclude that “the business simulation has become a very important element within the curriculum of many business schools.’ Strang, Crino, and Pray recently reported research in which they concluded that a relevant and major cost of simulation usage in management courses was the frustration and stress levels induced in student participants by these simulations. Their (3: 174) data suggest three underlying sources of stress and frustration: interpersonal conflict, difficulty in understanding interrelationships embodied within the simulation itself, and administrative and clerical problems (keypunch, etc.) associated with simulation usage. In some instances these frustrations and stresses induced students to withdraw from the simulation; in others, withdrawal from the course resulted. Sewall recognized the potential for such frustration and stress in his recent literature review. He noted that the Human Subject Guidelines might be an appropriate guide to simulation usage if research is conducted which employs simulation techniques. It should be noted that the purpose of the review process of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (4 136) for human subjects is to protect the interests of individuals “who may be exposed to the possibility of injury, including physical, psychological, or social injury, as a consequence of participation as a subject in any research, development, or related activity Sewall’s review of relevant ABSEL literature noted that a number of papers involved manipulation of the psychological environment of students; thus, questions surrounding psychological and social risk may be relevant to instructional methods, as well as simulations used for research purposes. He (2: 286) has stated that "ABSEL members are encouraged to consider and debate the policy issues involved. Purpose The intent of this paper is to present and analyze the position of the present and former ABSEL members concerning this Human Subjects Issue as it applies to classroom simulations. It addresses three separate but not mutually exclusive dimensions: (i) the member’s awareness of the Human Subjects Guidelines, (ii) their opinions concerning the relevancy of the Guidelines to simulation users, and (iii) their actions and intended actions taken in response to the Guidelines. No a priori hypotheses were established. The intent of the research was primarily that of information gathering, tentative analysis, and dissemination of findings. Methodology A questionnaire was developed and administered by the authors in order to ascertain the position of present and former ABSEL members regarding this Human Subjects Issue. The questionnaire itself consisted of twelve discrete-answer questions and one open- ended question. It was sent to each present and former ABSEL member listed in the 1977 Directory of ABSEL Members. Of the 322 questionnaires sent to members in the United States, 126 usable responses were received - - a response rate of 39 percent. Thirty- seven states and the District of Columbia were represented. The raw data from the returned questionnaires were analyzed by the use of frequency distributions. The section below summarizes the most pertinent responses. The questionnaire is presented in the appendix. Results As noted in Table 1, the members are overwhelmingly committed to the use of computerized and noncomputerized ongoing work group type simulations. Faria and Nulsen (1: 25) report a similar result. The responses indicate that a majority of the members are regular simulation users of the computerized variety. Most users (62%) indicate an exclusive concern for simulation as a teaching tool. A significant number (40), however, utilize simulations in the classroom with the intent of extending their research, as well as for pedagogical applications. Interestingly, those who utilize simulations for both research and teaching report that teaching constitutes a major component (about 80%) of their usage. Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 142 Table 2 summarizes the responses of the ABSEL members to questions concerning the Human Subjects Guidelines. As might be expected a priori, the majority (67.5%) of the users had not considered simulations to be under the purview of the Department of H.E.W. Human Subjects Guidelines. Furthermore, a significant portion (47.6%) were either not aware of having a campus-wide human subjects officer or knew their campus did not have one. An overwhelming 77.4 percent of the membership felt the use of simulations for classroom usage was not under the purview of the H.E.W. Guidelines. Only fifty-five percent felt that computerized ongoing work group type simulations for both pedagogical uses and for research should be under the Human Subjects Guidelines. This latter response suggests in the form of directionality, that research oriented simulation usage may in fact be considered for H.E.W. Guidelines 1 In summary, most of the ABSEL members who actively use simulations felt that simulation usage either strictly for teaching or for both teaching and research, does not warrant concern for stress and Human Subjects Guidelines. These actual unintended actions reflect this attitude. In fact, 72.6% indicated that they intend to take no action. 1 It should be noted however, that the SPSS cross tabs revealed that while only 26% of simulation users (strictly for pedagogical purposes) had considered the issue, 42% of the simulation users (for both teaching and research) had considered the issue. Table 3 summarizes the members’ ranking of stress associated with a number of teaching techniques. As would be expected, examinations and oral presentations are the highest in terms of stress while homework and cases are the lowest. Simulation usage has an average stress level equivalent to cases or papers. Interestingly, the ABSEL members who use simulations for research purposes indicated a higher level of stress associated with its usage than did the members who use it for teaching purposes strictly. Comments of Respondents Often the discrete categorical answers fail to capture the intensity of feeling of survey respondents. The following sample of open-ended comments is intended to reveal the diversity and intensity of attitudes and opinions held by the members. The comments are grouped under the general headings of stress, opinion, and miscellaneous. Stress: All classes have some stress. No harm to student, if properly executed. Stress is a part of living and growing. Who will protect the student from stress when he enters the real world??? Students usually enjoy games and stress is hardly more than homework. Cases/tests/oral presentations offer as much if not more stress than a business game simulation. Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 143 No significant risk to the participants. Any stress imposed is no different than that which the students will face in the real world. If they find out they cannot handle it, we are doing them a favor by making them aware of this fact. They can then adjust their career plans accordingly. Simulations create no more stress than other teaching methods. Real life is filled with far more stress than any simulation used in my classes or research. It is far better to learn to cope with simulated catastrophes than to get hit with real disaster because of failure to learn earlier. My American Heritage dictionary says “stress’ is an emphasis made which is emotionally disquieting. It is the change agent or force of learning. Therefore, the answer to question 11 lies in the syllabus of an instructor rather than in the inherent nature of the method itself. (e.g. I could assign “Stress” to any or all methods to obtain various objectives in various courses.) Students face a variety of stress -- why isolate simulation? The stress involved is not great enough relative to normal class stress. Compare to taking exam, participating in discussion, etc. How much stress is developed in these? Stress more likely a function of the individual. than the teaching technique. Stress is a personal thing. This can not and should not be quantified. What are the Human Subjects Guidelines? Possibly, if the research simulation crosses ethical boundaries with respect to stress in subjects. The presence of stress is not, ipso facto, something to be deplored/avoided. How ridiculous to presume that “Stress’ falls within the act. All of life is stress -- all education is stress. If the stupid bureaucrats win on this one we are all in trouble as a society. When you add research you may be crossing some sort of line. I don’t believe 50, but I can see an argument emerging for research. I believe that stress is a positive benefit to the student. A pedagogical choice much as tests; cases; small group discussions are pedagogical devices. I don’t believe the courts will interfere with professional judgments on the choice of pedagogy unless flagrantly out of line with reality. The whole idea is a bureaucratic waste. There is nothing here to waste time or money on. The students don’t need protection against this type of stress, because it merely simulates the same stress they must encounter later as employees. If stress is eliminated from the classroom situation, motivation will also cease. Part of this job in the Business School is to allow the students to experience the signs of real-life decision making, including stress. The university atmosphere is unreal enough, why turn it into a true make-believe world? To think that simulation stress is a serious matter that might require H.E.W. intervention is either a little funny or a little frightening, I’m not sure which If it falls under the domain of Human Subjects legislation, the whole of teaching does also. No real invasion of privacy, etc. and no specific revelation of individual “frailties”. Miscellaneous: Each of these affect different students in different ways -- I’ve had students come close to nervous breakdowns over having to answer a question in class, so my responses are tenuously generalized. Simulations are designed to provide students with real life experience. One should not follow overly protective patterns which preclude active learning experiences. Students are not subjects but the doers. Government simply cannot control everything. “Stress’ as risk is stupid. All life is stress. Fight it. This is an example of intent of law being abused by the enforcers. Conclusions As noted by Faria and Nulsen (1: 25), there appears to be extensive usage of the ongoing work group type simulation across ABSEL members. The work of Strang, Crino, and Pray (3) suggested that stress placed upon students in the simulation environment is a ‘cost” considered in determining the benefits/cost of simulation. Sewall (2) suggested the possibility of H.E.W. Guidelines being appropriate for simulation usage particularly in the research area. The findings of this survey indicate that an overwhelming majority of active simulation users for teaching purposes feel that (i) simulations do not generate sufficient stress and (ii) therefore do not fall under the purview of the Human Subjects Guidelines. One survey respondent said with respect to the implications of the Guidelines, "I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” Sewall (2: 286) astutely urged the membership to consider and debate the policy implications of this crucial issue. Perhaps, the profession has arrived at the proverbial bridge and the time has come far ABSEL to take a position. Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 REFERENCES [1] Faria, A. J. and R. 0. Nulsen, Jr. “The New Research Focus: An Analysis of the Simulation Game User,” ABSEL (Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning) Proceedings of Annual Meeting, 1978, pp. 25-31. [2] Sewall, Murphy A. “Simulation and Experiential Learning As Human Subject Research," ABSEL (Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning) Proceedings of Annual Meeting, 1978, pp. 283-287. [3] Strang, Daniel R. , Michael D. Crino, and Thomas F. Pray. ‘Considerations for the Use of Computerized Business Simulations,” ABSEL (Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning) Proceedingc or Annual Meeting, 1978, pp. 169-175. [4] U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. ‘Protection of Human Subjects,’ Code of Federal Regulations, CFR Section 46.103 (b). Washington: Government Printing Office, November 6, 1975, pp. 136- 137. Table of Contents Volume 6, 1979 The Use of Cases with Role Plays in a Research Methods Course Debugging and Implementing the Live-Case Approach to Marketing Research in the Australian Environment Using a Case as the Basis for a Modified Debate Using Cases in Business Communication Classes A Structured Approach to Case Analysis and Reporting Intercollegiate Case Analysis Competition as an Experiential Learning Experience Attributes Germane to Student/Live Case Situations Understanding Dispute Resolution Through Experiential learning Personality Development and Conflict Dynamics: An Experimental Design to Study the Effects of Teaching Methodologies on Conflict Resolution Interpersonal Competence and the Digital PDP-11:40 The process of Writing a Collective Bargaining Simulation: A Case Study in Practical Pedagogy Simulating Negotiations in an Educational Context Simulations as a Technique for Teaching Collective Bargaining Experiential Processing of Differing Managerial Perspectives: The Use of a Game Show Format Individual Self Report vs. Group consensus in Small Decision-Making Groups Effects of Sex-Role Stereotypes on Promotion Decisions: An Exercise Computer Aids to Planning: The Budget and Forecasting Module Use of a Microcomputer in a Decision Analysis for Investment Portfolio Selection A Game of Investment Strategy: Description, Use, Criticism and Modification Coping with Future Uncertainties Through Probabilistic Budgeting Administration and Design of Simulation Materials for a Specialized Management Training Program Managing Stress in Organizational Life Banksim: The Bank Management Simulation Issues in the Organizational Application of Simulation and Experiential material Games Within Games: The Role of the Glitch Experiential Learning from Classroom to Business An Evaluation of the Small Business Institute Program as an Experiential learning Exercise Conversations with Top Management (Simulated) Experience in the Use and Assessment of Simulation in Management Education A Statistical Analysis of Simulation Users: Relationships between Stress and Human Subject guidelines Group Decision Making in a Computer Game Analysis of Demographic and Psychosocial Variables Comparing Performance During Three Managerial Accounting Simulation Schedules Business Policy Simulation and the Intense Course Structure The Use of Intensive Simulation in Executive Development and Academic Settings The Use of Experiential Exercises in the Undergraduate Consumer Behavior Course A Personal Marketing Strategy Approach: Framework and Application Teaching PERT Experientially in Marketing Research Discovering the Majority Fallacy An Experiential Approach to Studying International Business A Demonstration of the Business Simulation Game as a Curriculum Assessment Device Relating Teaching Methods with Educational Objectives in the Business Curriculum The Junior Achievement Applied Management Program as a Compromise Situation Between the Simulation and the Internship Who is Using Computerized Business Games?: A View from Publishers' Adoption Lists Trials and Tribulations in Testing Educational Innovations An Examination of the Perceived Effectiveness of Computer Simulation in a Classroom Setting as Affected by Game, Environmental and Respondent Characteristics Game Administration: A Life Cycle Analysis Research on the Effectiveness of Using a Computerized Simulation in the Basic Management Course Gaming and Attitudinal Change The Teacher-Student Relationship in Experiential Classes and the Student's Perception of Course Effectiveness An Exploratory Study of Student Characteristics and Educational Processes in Programmatic Experiential learning General Incongruity Adaption Level (GIAL) as a Predictor of Risk Preferences in a Simulated Management Game The Cap-Stone Opportunity: Combining Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Incorporating MIS/DSS into Policy Courses Via Simulation Who Benefits Most from Participation in Business Policy Simulations: An Empirical Study of Skill Development by Functional Areas The Use of Program NAMEX in Teaching the Accounting for Nonmonetary Assets The Use of Program CVP in Teaching Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Experiential vs. Traditional Classroom Approach in the Basic Management Course: A Puerto Rican Experience A Guide to the Successful Use of Business Simulation Games The Dynamic Aspects of Interactive Gaming Puts the Realism into Gaming System Representation of SIMORG The Design of a Database System to Support Business Simulation and Experiential Learning A Data Entry and Retrieval System for a Computer Simulation (DERS) Simulation - An Advantage for Accounting Research Computer-Aided Project Performance Control Simulation: An Interactive Experiential Gaming Technique for Managerial Decision Making Utilization of Manual Simulation Games to Develop Scenarios of Future Events - An Exploratory Study Foundry: A Foundry Simulation Customized Debriefing: The Achilles Heel of Experiential learning? Computerized Business Simulations and Experiential Learning Exercises: An Instructional Interface The Baseball Game: A Group Role Observation, Problem Solving Experience A Practical Design for Experiential Learning Exercises: Roles, Technical Equipment and Alternative Debriefing Formats