Practical work activity in the industrial fastener industry: A study of expert/novice differences in cognition and activity.
Item
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Title
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Practical work activity in the industrial fastener industry: A study of expert/novice differences in cognition and activity.
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Identifier
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AAI9029956
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identifier
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9029956
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Creator
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Laufer, Edith A.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Sylvia Scribner
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Developmental | Anthropology, Cultural | Psychology, Industrial | Education, Educational Psychology
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Abstract
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The present study examines how socio-cultural activity theory and information processing theory can be employed as complementary perspectives for the investigation of novice/expert differences in practical work activity. Observations of work activity within the offices of five industrial fastener sites and interviews with all levels of office worker, form the basis of this research. Based on these observations, two experimental tasks were devised, using natural stimulus material consisting of bolts, nuts, screws, and washers, one sorting task and one quasi-naturalistic order processing task. Empirical data from the performance of twenty-four telephone office workers, using this multi-method approach, were examined.;The major finding of this study was that when traditional methods of explanation, employing 'ideal' standards borrowed from information processing theories, were applied to the knowledge domain of the fastener business, they lost their predictive power. For example, experts exhibited less stability of organization on the sorting task than did novices and experts generally worked backwards in the order processing task whereas novices worked forward.;Findings suggested that knowledge and knowledge organization of product items, although necessary, were not the sole measure of expertise. Their large data base liberated the experienced sales person and facilitated the development of expertise through the acquisition of social and cultural knowledge, effecting an integration of technical and social skills.;An activity approach was shown to be more useful in examining the social and material aspects of the office world and novice/expert differences in content and structure of telephone sales work. The analytic scheme, in this study, included activity components from all levels. From this approach, findings suggest that the shift from novice to expert resulted in: (1) A reorganization of goal-motives and greater differentiation between meaning and sense. (2) A transformation of surface to complex, multi-layered social relations. (3) A change in the forms of mediation, from external to internal means, accompanied by a shift in the locus of knowledge and the level of various activity components.;By employing an activity perspective, it was found that aspects of work activity were made visible which are usually not examined when more traditional information processing theories are employed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
