The Relation of Cognitive and Noncognitive Facets of Problem-Solving Competence in Office Work

• In Event: The Parker Hotel Roundtable 2
  In Roundtable Session: Workplace Learning: Highlighted, Researched, and Analyzed From the Lens of the Practitioners

Abstract

When modelling and measuring domain-specific problem-solving competencies in the context of work, it is important to account for cognitive as well as non-cognitive facets. Yet it is an open question how non-cognitive facets and individual dispositions are interrelated when predicting cognitive problem-solving performance. In a large scale cross-sectional study we investigated the problem-solving competence of N=786 commercial apprentices in the business domain. Three problem scenarios were implemented in a computer-based test environment simulating office work and its requirements. We found a partial mediation of self-concept on the relation between domain knowledge and problem-solving performance. With respect to the interplay of the variables, non-cognitive facets of competence seem to be relevant for the transfer of individual potential into performance.

Authors

• Kristina Koegler, University Frankfurt am Main

• Andreas Rausch, University of Mannheim