Developing Effective Military Leaders: Facilitating the Acquisition of Experience-Based Tacit Knowledge

Abstract

This investigation tested methods derived from Sternberg's theory of practical intelligence (Sternberg et. al, 2000) that were designed to enhance experience-based (tacit) knowledge in military leadership. Two experimental studies were conducted that built on prior research. The first research effort was a quasi-experiment, in which 101 Army officers participated in theory-based reflection interventions or a no-reflection control. Results showed a strong effect of reflection condition on tacit knowledge post-test scores (F(3, 91)=3.743, p=.01). In the second experiment, 235 college students participated in a theory-based reflection intervention or reflection control. Results showed a marginally significant effect of reflection condition on tacit knowledge post-test performance (Hotellings T(1,233)=.015, p=.06). This intervention suggests that individual reflection interventions based on cognitive theory may promote experiential learning as measured by domain-specific, practical problem-solving.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA434486

Entities

People

  • Anne T. Cianciolo
  • Cynthia T. Matthew
  • Robert Sternberg

Organizations

  • Yale University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Applied Psychology
  • Army Personnel
  • Cognition
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Health Services
  • Information Processing
  • Information Science
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Processes
  • Military Research
  • Psychology
  • Schools
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Students

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.