Measuring intellectual behavior: The hierarchical stages of complex reasoning in executive development.

摘要

There is an ongoing dialogue regarding the difficulty of effectively measuring executive development and identifying a general basic for this development. The focus of this dissertation was to explore the link between executive development and developed cognitive ability. The context in which this study was conducted was the U.S. energy industry, with a specific consideration of the nuclear power industry. I asked how can an executive's complex reasoning be measured without direct reliance on aspects of domain, context, or culture? I also asked what are the common developmental experiences of its development? This study demonstrates a methodology for and results of performing cognitive development measurement. The chosen research instrument was the Model of Hierarchical Complexity (MHC) which incorporates a technique to discern the hierarchical stages of development. Integral to the use of MHC, my study employed a Rasch analysis and statistical regression techniques. I found this methodology to be well-suited for reduced bias measurement, allowing for a graphical depiction of the revealed hierarchical stages of developed complex reasoning. I believe this methodology will prove significant in providing a cognition-centered framework that informs both executive development program design and the post-development assessment methodology.;Key words: Adult development, Cognition, Cognitive development, Complex reasoning, Executive development, Organizational development, Reasonging