TY - JOUR

T1 - Effectiveness of error management training

T2 - a meta-analysis

AU - Keith, Nina

AU - Frese, Michael

N1 - 2008 APA

PY - 2008/1/1

Y1 - 2008/1/1

N2 - Error management training (EMT) is a training method that involves active exploration as well as explicit encouragement for learners to make errors during training and to learn from them. Past evaluation studies, which compared skill-based training outcomes of EMT with those of proceduralized erroravoidant training or of exploratory training without error encouragement, have yielded considerable variation in effect sizes. The present meta-analysis compiles the results of the existing studies and seeks to explain this variation. Although the mean effect of EMT across all 24 identified studies (N = 2,183) was positive and significant (Cohen's d = 0.44), there were several moderators. Moderator analyses showed effect sizes to be larger (a) for posttraining transfer (d = 0.56) than for within-training performance and (b) for performance tasks that were structurally distinct (adaptive transfer; d = 0.80) than for tasks that were similar to training (analogical transfer). In addition, both active exploration and error encouragement were identified as effective elements in EMT. Results suggest that EMT may be better suited than error-avoidant training methods for promotion of transfer to novel tasks.

AB - Error management training (EMT) is a training method that involves active exploration as well as explicit encouragement for learners to make errors during training and to learn from them. Past evaluation studies, which compared skill-based training outcomes of EMT with those of proceduralized erroravoidant training or of exploratory training without error encouragement, have yielded considerable variation in effect sizes. The present meta-analysis compiles the results of the existing studies and seeks to explain this variation. Although the mean effect of EMT across all 24 identified studies (N = 2,183) was positive and significant (Cohen's d = 0.44), there were several moderators. Moderator analyses showed effect sizes to be larger (a) for posttraining transfer (d = 0.56) than for within-training performance and (b) for performance tasks that were structurally distinct (adaptive transfer; d = 0.80) than for tasks that were similar to training (analogical transfer). In addition, both active exploration and error encouragement were identified as effective elements in EMT. Results suggest that EMT may be better suited than error-avoidant training methods for promotion of transfer to novel tasks.

KW - Employee Performance Appraisal

KW - Feedback

KW - Humans

KW - Inservice Training

KW - Learning

KW - Quality Assurance, Health Care

KW - Transfer (Psychology)

KW - Business psychology

KW - error management training

KW - meta-analysis

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3ca11c6b-6e79-3908-a030-2de5952b54dc/

U2 - 10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.59

DO - 10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.59

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 18211135

VL - 93

SP - 59

EP - 69

JO - Journal of Applied Psychology

JF - Journal of Applied Psychology

SN - 0021-9010

IS - 1

ER -