Preparatory Training, States of Goal Orientation, and Mentoring Relationship Effectiveness
We used an online academic-advising program to examine the effects of preparatory training designed to elicit high states of learning-goal orientation and low states of avoid goal orientation. Results indicate that training was effective in some cases for manipulating states of goal orientation. The training did not directly affect behaviors as anticipated; however, perceptions of partner behaviors showed effects. Moreover, learning-goal orientation was related to advisee postprogram academic self-efficacy. Thus, individuals working with such mentoring programs should consider implementing goal-oriented preparatory training programs to increase mentoring relationship effectiveness.
Contributor Notes
Dr. Shannon A. Scielzo is currently an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Director of the Training, Measurement and Technology Lab. Her predominant research interests include training, scale development, and measurement applications. She has numerous publications in the area of mentoring, specifically examining various antecedents and outcomes to mentoring relationship processes, such as investigating the impact of training and communication mode on mentoring relationship effectiveness. Furthermore, she has worked with numerous applied mentoring programs. Dr. Scielzo graduated with her PhD and MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Florida. Contact her at Scielzo@uta.edu.
Michael Neeper is a doctoral student in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and graduate research assistant for the Training, Measurement, and Technology Lab at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). His research interests focus on identifying effective underlying communication and general teamwork processes as well as workload, both individual and team. Mr. Neeper graduated with his undergraduate degree in Psychology from UTA and is currently a member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Dr. Kimberly Smith-Jentsch is currently an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on training, mentoring, teams, interpersonal skills, and the use of simulation to assess performance. Throughout her career, Dr. Smith-Jentsch has been awarded over $6 million in contracts and grants to study these topics. She has also earned a number of awards for her work, including the M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace (2001), the Dr. Arthur E. Bisson Award for Naval Technology Achievement (2000), and the NAVAIR Senior Scientist Award (2000). Dr. Smith-Jentsch's research has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and Human Factors. Together, her articles and book chapters have been cited over 600 times to date. She is currently a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of Business and Psychology.
