Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Robert Sinclair
Committee Member
Dr. Susan Limber
Committee Member
Dr. Shubham Agrawal
Committee Member
Dr. Patrick Rosopa
Abstract
Errors in organizational research have traditionally been conceptualized as static, preventable outcomes as opposed to dynamic events embedded within changing social environments. This dissertation reframes this by conceptualizing post-error response as an ongoing identity-regulation process. Drawing from self-presentation theory and identity control theory (ICT), it was hypothesized that an error’s deviation from expectation and its social context (self, teammate, or opponent error) influence post-error caution. These results were hypothesized to be greater when audience salience and situational importance were higher. Using play-by-play shot selection data from the 2023-2025 NCAA Division I basketball seasons as a natural testing environment, this study employed linear mixed-effects models and a Bayesian state-space model to track within-person behavioral adjustments. Findings indicate players exhibit heightened post-error shot caution (a higher predicted shot probability) after missed shots, with this caution being significantly heightened if the previous miss had a higher expected make probability. While unexpected teammate misses similarly predicted greater caution, average teammate errors unexpectedly resulted in less cautious behavior, and opponent errors resulted in increased caution rather than the hypothesized recklessness. Neither audience salience (home vs. away status) nor win-probability-based shot importance significantly moderated these relationships. A Bayesian state-space model corroborated these findings by modeling errors as negative shocks to a latent identity verification state, revealing a clear but quickly dissipating effect of previous shot results and characteristics on subsequent shot caution. Responding to the call for more process-based error research (Lei & Naveh, 2023), this dissertation supports a social, process-based view of post-error response.
Recommended Citation
Britt, Jordan, "A Socio-Cognitive Process Theory of Error Response: Evidence from Shot Selection in Basketball" (2026). All Dissertations. 4404.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4404