06/17/2024
By Jack Blake

The Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Department of Psychology invites you to attend a master's thesis defense by Jack Blake on "Examining productivity and preference associated with productivity-contingent versus productivity-noncontingent break prompts using a medical data entry task."

Candidate: Jack Blake
Degree: Master’s
Defense Date: Monday, July 1, 2024
Time: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Coburn Hall Rm. 245 (South Campus)
Thesis/Dissertation Title: Examining productivity and preference associated with productivity-contingent versus productivity-noncontingent break prompts using a medical data entry task

Committee:

  • Advisor Anita Li, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Rocío Rosales, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Douglas Johnson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Brief Abstract: Breaks from work can benefit employee satisfaction and well-being (Bennett, 2015; Dababneh et al., 2001; Zacher et al., 2014), but behavior-analytic evaluations of different break structures and productivity are limited (Abernathy, 2000; Nastasi et al., 2023). Conceptual analyses of behavior suggest breaks may exert different functions on work behaviors depending on idiosyncratic preferences pertaining to work task, task momentum, break duration, break frequency, and break choice (Jett & George, 2003; Gover et al., 2022). The present study evaluated the effects of productivity-contingent and productivity-noncontingent break prompts on performance in a computerized medical data entry task (VanStelle, 2012) among 21 undergraduates. Results reveal no differentiation between break prompt conditions and a general preference for no break prompts or productivity-noncontingent break prompts over productivity-contingent break prompts, though social acceptability data suggest conflicting preferences. Performance did not significantly differ by concurrent-chains results. Visual analysis of performance data reveals high performers accepted significantly more programmed breaks than low performers. Furthermore, schedule effects such as scalloping are evident. Implications for future research and organizational policy are discussed.