Research
Interests
I study how people learn, change, and work effectively with one another. My work mainly resides at the micro- and meso-level in organizations. Specifically, I focus on ways to help individuals leverage their strengths and bring their best selves to work, resulting in increasing personal learning and productivity. At the team level, I study how team composition and processes can be managed to improve team performance and team learning experience. Underlying these interests is my view of the world as fluid, constantly changing, always embedded in contexts, and interconnected by relationships. My work has implications for organizations seeking to better train, motivate and empower their employees, build effective teams, and manage an increasingly diverse workforce. I use qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as computational simulation in my research.
Dissertation Project: Unlocking Experts’ Inflexibility: The Moderating Roles of Humility and Learning Identity Research suggests that acquisition of domain expertise leads to inflexibility in problem solving, adaptation, and creative idea generation (Bilalić, McLeod, & Gobet, 2008; Chi, 2006; Dane, 2010). In my dissertation, I use Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984) to offer an alternative explanation of experts’ inflexibility. Flexibility is conceptualized and measured in two ways: (1) the use of non-preferred type of knowledge (relative to preferred type) in the contextual-conceptual knowledge dialectic, and (2) learning flexibility—the adaptation of one’s learning style in response to different situational demands. I argue that during the process of expertise acquisition, people become accustomed to and comfortable with utilizing a certain type of knowledge or mode of learning, under the influence of both their personal preferences and nature of their professions. Consequently, they lose the ability to use the other type of knowledge or modes of learning effectively. However, two moderators can help alleviate this relationship: humility and learning identity—an individual’s disposition to see him-/herself as a learner, seek and engage life experiences with a learning attitude, and believe in his/her ability to learn. Having humility and adopting a learning identity help experts engage in positive learning behaviors such as constantly trying to refine their skills and improve performance, seeking feedback, and learning from challenges. Experts who are humble and who see themselves as learners would be able to avoid being overconfident about their own expertise and being trapped in cognitive and behavioral automaticity.
Methodologically, my dissertation consists of 2 studies. The pilot study develops and validates a learning identity scale (LIS). The main study uses Structural Equation Modeling to empirically test the relationship between domain expertise and flexibility, as well as the moderating effects of humility and learning identity on this relationship. Taken together, my dissertation should yield 3 manuscripts. The first article establishes the learning identity construct, presents its scale development and validation, and introduces its usage in education, coaching for personal development, and employee selection and training. The second one offers a theoretical framework of the contextual-conceptual knowledge dialectic, its role in training and development, and its implication for distinguishing the notions of Balancing and Integrating in Experiential Learning Theory. Finally, the third article presents empirical evidence of the relationship between domain expertise and flexibility as well as its moderators in a way that is replicable across domains.
Team Dynamics
Within this line of research, I study how team composition and processes can be managed to improve team performance and team learning experience. I examined the combined effects of demographic and personality diversity in teams of volunteer workers in Shanghai and found that the diversity in team members’ conscientiousness could prove beneficial to team performance depending on the team context (Trinh, In press). I am currently working on two other projects in this research stream. The first study documents the process through which cohesion comes into existence and changes as a function of group interactions (Trinh & Coen, 2014). I have finished collecting and analyzing qualitative data, and am working on writing an agent-based model of group cohesion’s emergence to test for robustness of the qualitative propositions. This study sheds light on the different impacts the same group interaction may have on individual group members and carries implications for team building and intervention. Different parts of this study will be presented at this year’s Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research conference and Academy of Management conference (OB division).
The second project, presented at the International Association for Conflict Management conference last year, examines patterns of cooperation and defection in complex adaptive systems using computational simulations (Coen & Trinh, 2014). In this study, we compare the effects of social comparison and the gap between individual aspirations and performance in relation to other members in the n-person Prisoner’s Dilemma. Results suggest that in some conditions arising between teams, the dilemma disappears: members are better off cooperating with others to achieve higher performance relative to members of other teams even while remaining in a dilemma in relation to members of their own team. This finding raises new questions about the value of strategic choices, the evolution of cooperation, and the importance of understanding how people behave given various levels of performance aspiration.
Future Directions
In the coming years I will continue to work on topics pertaining to personal development, diversity, team building, and experiential learning. First, I will extend my dissertation research to the team context and answer questions such as how positive attitudes of the experts or leaders can disseminate throughout an organization to create a humble and learning culture in the workplace, or how the diversity of expertise, both in terms of degree and function, can be managed to optimize team learning. Second, I am looking at how academic researchers integrate their personal values with research interests to navigate a successful career, as personal relevance has been suggested to be one important element of success (Ashford, 2013). Third, I will continue to advance our understanding of learning identity and other experiential learning concepts such as the balancing and integrating learning styles. Fourth, I am also writing about how the Eastern and Western notions of wisdom are embodied differently in modern organizations and its implications for managerial practice. I will utilize my skills in quantitative, qualitative, and computational methods in developing the mixed-method studies on this agenda.
References
Ashford, S. J. (2013). Having scholarly impact: The art of hitting academic home runs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(4), 623–633.
Bilalić, M., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2008). Inflexibility of experts—Reality or myth? Quantifying the Einstellung effect in chess masters. Cognitive Psychology, 56(2), 73–102.
Chi, M. T. (2006). Two approaches to the study of experts’ characteristics. The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, 21–30.
Coen, C. A., & Trinh, M. P. (2014). Aspiration in the single team vs. intergroup prisoner’s dilemma. Working paper, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Dane, E. (2010). Reconsidering the trade-off between expertise and flexibility: A cognitive entrenchment perspective. Academy of Management Review, 35(4), 579–603.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (1st ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Trinh, M. P. (In press). When demographic and personality diversity are both at play: Effects on team performance and implications for diversity management practices. In C. Hughes (Ed.), Impact of diversity on organizational and career development. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Trinh, M. P., & Coen, C. A. (2014). Shaping group cohesion by working through critical incidents. Working paper, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
I study how people learn, change, and work effectively with one another. My work mainly resides at the micro- and meso-level in organizations. Specifically, I focus on ways to help individuals leverage their strengths and bring their best selves to work, resulting in increasing personal learning and productivity. At the team level, I study how team composition and processes can be managed to improve team performance and team learning experience. Underlying these interests is my view of the world as fluid, constantly changing, always embedded in contexts, and interconnected by relationships. My work has implications for organizations seeking to better train, motivate and empower their employees, build effective teams, and manage an increasingly diverse workforce. I use qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as computational simulation in my research.
Dissertation Project: Unlocking Experts’ Inflexibility: The Moderating Roles of Humility and Learning Identity Research suggests that acquisition of domain expertise leads to inflexibility in problem solving, adaptation, and creative idea generation (Bilalić, McLeod, & Gobet, 2008; Chi, 2006; Dane, 2010). In my dissertation, I use Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984) to offer an alternative explanation of experts’ inflexibility. Flexibility is conceptualized and measured in two ways: (1) the use of non-preferred type of knowledge (relative to preferred type) in the contextual-conceptual knowledge dialectic, and (2) learning flexibility—the adaptation of one’s learning style in response to different situational demands. I argue that during the process of expertise acquisition, people become accustomed to and comfortable with utilizing a certain type of knowledge or mode of learning, under the influence of both their personal preferences and nature of their professions. Consequently, they lose the ability to use the other type of knowledge or modes of learning effectively. However, two moderators can help alleviate this relationship: humility and learning identity—an individual’s disposition to see him-/herself as a learner, seek and engage life experiences with a learning attitude, and believe in his/her ability to learn. Having humility and adopting a learning identity help experts engage in positive learning behaviors such as constantly trying to refine their skills and improve performance, seeking feedback, and learning from challenges. Experts who are humble and who see themselves as learners would be able to avoid being overconfident about their own expertise and being trapped in cognitive and behavioral automaticity.
Methodologically, my dissertation consists of 2 studies. The pilot study develops and validates a learning identity scale (LIS). The main study uses Structural Equation Modeling to empirically test the relationship between domain expertise and flexibility, as well as the moderating effects of humility and learning identity on this relationship. Taken together, my dissertation should yield 3 manuscripts. The first article establishes the learning identity construct, presents its scale development and validation, and introduces its usage in education, coaching for personal development, and employee selection and training. The second one offers a theoretical framework of the contextual-conceptual knowledge dialectic, its role in training and development, and its implication for distinguishing the notions of Balancing and Integrating in Experiential Learning Theory. Finally, the third article presents empirical evidence of the relationship between domain expertise and flexibility as well as its moderators in a way that is replicable across domains.
Team Dynamics
Within this line of research, I study how team composition and processes can be managed to improve team performance and team learning experience. I examined the combined effects of demographic and personality diversity in teams of volunteer workers in Shanghai and found that the diversity in team members’ conscientiousness could prove beneficial to team performance depending on the team context (Trinh, In press). I am currently working on two other projects in this research stream. The first study documents the process through which cohesion comes into existence and changes as a function of group interactions (Trinh & Coen, 2014). I have finished collecting and analyzing qualitative data, and am working on writing an agent-based model of group cohesion’s emergence to test for robustness of the qualitative propositions. This study sheds light on the different impacts the same group interaction may have on individual group members and carries implications for team building and intervention. Different parts of this study will be presented at this year’s Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research conference and Academy of Management conference (OB division).
The second project, presented at the International Association for Conflict Management conference last year, examines patterns of cooperation and defection in complex adaptive systems using computational simulations (Coen & Trinh, 2014). In this study, we compare the effects of social comparison and the gap between individual aspirations and performance in relation to other members in the n-person Prisoner’s Dilemma. Results suggest that in some conditions arising between teams, the dilemma disappears: members are better off cooperating with others to achieve higher performance relative to members of other teams even while remaining in a dilemma in relation to members of their own team. This finding raises new questions about the value of strategic choices, the evolution of cooperation, and the importance of understanding how people behave given various levels of performance aspiration.
Future Directions
In the coming years I will continue to work on topics pertaining to personal development, diversity, team building, and experiential learning. First, I will extend my dissertation research to the team context and answer questions such as how positive attitudes of the experts or leaders can disseminate throughout an organization to create a humble and learning culture in the workplace, or how the diversity of expertise, both in terms of degree and function, can be managed to optimize team learning. Second, I am looking at how academic researchers integrate their personal values with research interests to navigate a successful career, as personal relevance has been suggested to be one important element of success (Ashford, 2013). Third, I will continue to advance our understanding of learning identity and other experiential learning concepts such as the balancing and integrating learning styles. Fourth, I am also writing about how the Eastern and Western notions of wisdom are embodied differently in modern organizations and its implications for managerial practice. I will utilize my skills in quantitative, qualitative, and computational methods in developing the mixed-method studies on this agenda.
References
Ashford, S. J. (2013). Having scholarly impact: The art of hitting academic home runs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(4), 623–633.
Bilalić, M., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2008). Inflexibility of experts—Reality or myth? Quantifying the Einstellung effect in chess masters. Cognitive Psychology, 56(2), 73–102.
Chi, M. T. (2006). Two approaches to the study of experts’ characteristics. The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, 21–30.
Coen, C. A., & Trinh, M. P. (2014). Aspiration in the single team vs. intergroup prisoner’s dilemma. Working paper, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Dane, E. (2010). Reconsidering the trade-off between expertise and flexibility: A cognitive entrenchment perspective. Academy of Management Review, 35(4), 579–603.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (1st ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Trinh, M. P. (In press). When demographic and personality diversity are both at play: Effects on team performance and implications for diversity management practices. In C. Hughes (Ed.), Impact of diversity on organizational and career development. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Trinh, M. P., & Coen, C. A. (2014). Shaping group cohesion by working through critical incidents. Working paper, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.