Improvisation Skills and Motivation Behavior from a Human Factors Perspective

Abstract: The motivation to avoid punishment, or to pursue reward can result in certain behavioral tendencies. It is known that individuals with higher sensitivity towards reward can express traits of extrovertedness, openness to novel situations, and a general appetite for feeling good. Individuals on the other side of the spectrum tend to show a pessimistic attitude towards approaching novel situations. As a consequence, individuals with a higher tendency of approaching novel situations ought to find themselves in risky situations more frequently than individuals who would rather avoid novel situations. Looking at this from a human factors perspective, it becomes apparent that a tendency to approach situations with a lack of conflict monitoring can produce risks, but simeltaneously, disinterest in approaching a risky situation can lead to crisis events. In other words, whilst individuals with a sensitivity towards reward might have a proclivity for producing a crisis, they might also have a higher chance of solving a crisis. In order to solve unexpected crisis events, it is necessary to be able to improvise. In the experiment of this current thesis, individuals were assessed for their sensitivity towards reward and punishment, and following this, the individuals were assessed in improvisational skills. Motivation behavior and improvisation skills were investigated to see if there is a correlation between them. The purpose of this thesis was to present a multidisciplinary literature account for the relevant subjects by tying together aspects of cognition, cognitive neuroscience, human factors, and psychology, and to provide experimental data about the mentioned correlation. The present experiment showed that there is a significant correlation between sensitivity towards reward and improvisation skills. Additionally, it was also found that system-level factors i.e pre-implemented elements by a designer/organization might not facilitate improvisational performance, but this significant result did not appear in the expected manner. Future directions of research on this subject should focus on five mainpoints (1) replication of investigating the relationship between personality styles and improvisation with different methodologies, (2) investigating the mechanisms leading to the emergence of this relationship, (3) approach the subject mainly from a cognitive-neuroscientific standpoint, but complement with a multiple disciplinary approach (4) use the results within the disciplines of human factors, safety, and resilience, and (5) take data into consideration for e.g. future accident preventions policies.