Dianne D. Horgan
Professor and Associate Dean, Graduate College.
Ph.D., Psycholinguistics, The University of Michigan
dhorgan@grad.arizona.edu
Scholarly Interests and Activities
Curriculum Vitae
Courses
[MAILING ADDRESS]
PO Box 210033
Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
[CAMPUS ADDRESS]
Family and Consumer Sciences Bldg.
1110 East South Campus Drive Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
Phone: (520) 621-1075 Fax: (520) 621-3401
Email: dhorgan@grad.arizona.edu
Scholarly Interests and Activities
My research and teaching interests are in two main areas: motivation and expert/novice differences. The study of expert/novice differences examines how people acquire high levels of skill-how they get to be really good at what they do. Some of my work is more theoretical, but I am committed to applying research findings to real world problems. Hence, I have developed several training programs aimed at enhancing performance.
The development of expertise involves motivation as well as skill acquisition. Decision making is one component of expertise, and I have studied decision making in a number of different contexts and developed training programs to improve decision making skills. Mentoring and other kinds of coaching and training are also important in understanding how expertise develops, and some of my work focuses on this. Other work examines how adult and child chess players develop their skill. Expert chess playing represents some of the most sophisticated problem solving skills of which people are capable. It is also one of the most male-dominated of all human intellectual activities. Although little of the expert/novice literature and none of the chess cognition literature has focused on gender, I believe that research is rich with potential applications for improving performance for everyone, but especially for groups which have experienced discrimination or fewer opportunities to develop high levels of skills. Many of the factors that contribute to expertise are now understood, and we can apply some of the lessons from this research to real world situations.
Valesky, T., Horgan, D., Etheridge, C., & Smith, D. (in press). Training for Quality School-Based Decision Making: The Total Teamwork System. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press.
Hacker, D. J., Bol, L., Horgan, D. D., & Rakow, E. A. (2000). Test prediction and performance in a classroom context. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 160-170.
Horgan, D. (1995). Achieving gender equity: Strategies for the classroom. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Etheridge, C., Horgan, D., Valesky, T., Hall, M.L., & Terrell, L. (1994). The challenge to change: The Memphis experience with school-based decision making. Washington, D.C.: National Educational Association.
Horgan, D. (1993). Learning to tell jokes: A study of metalinguistic abilities. In R.P. Honeck, T.J.S. Case, & M.J. Firment (eds.), Introductory readings for cognitive psychology. (pp.214-220). Guildford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Group. (also in 1991 edition) Horgan, D. (1988). Learning to tell jokes: A study of metalinguistic abilities. In S.S. Barton & M.B. Franklin (Eds.) Child Language: A Book of Readings. (pp. 342-349). Oxford University press. (Reprinted from Journal of Child Language, 1981, 8, 217-224.)
Horgan, D, & Simeon, R. (1990). Mentoring and participation: An application of the Vroom-Yetton model. Journal of Business and Psychology, 5, 63-84. (Reprinted in Personnel Research Highlights, April 1991.)
Horgan, D., & Simeon, R., (1990). Gender, mentoring, and tacit knowledge. in J.W. Neuliep (Ed.) Handbook of replication research in the behavioral and social sciences [Special Issue.] Journal of Social Behavior and Personality. 5, 453-471.
Horgan, D. & Morgan, D., (1990). Chess expertise in children, Applied Cognitive Psychology., 4, 109-128.
Horgan, D., Millis, K., Horgan, T., & Neimeyer, R. (1989). Predecision processes in chess: Masters, experts, and novices. In D. Topping, D. Crowell, & V. Kobayashi, (Eds.), Thinking Across Cultures (pp.309-322). Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 309-321.
Horgan, D. (1989). A cognitive learning perspective on women becoming expert managers. Journal of Business and Psychology, 3, 299-313. Reprinted in Women in Management Review and Abstracts, 1990, 2, 11-19.
All of Dianne Horgan's courses can be found at http://eres.library.arizona.edu/coursepage.asp?cid=141
FSHD Graduate Program Details
University of Arizona Graduate College