Kristina N. Bauer

  • Associate Chair, Department of Psychology
  • Associate Professor of Psychology

Dr. Bauer’s primary research interests are: (1) self-regulated learning, (2) technology-enabled instruction, and (3) transfer of training. Self-regulation refers to all processes that guide goal-directed behavior, including constructs like motivation, self-efficacy, effort, and emotion regulation among others. Her self-regulated learning research has focused on the correlates and outcomes of training motivation and examining the impact of training interventions. Technology-enabled instruction refers to a variety of delivery media including but not limited to web-based instruction, blended learning, game-based training, and content delivered through social media tools. Dr. Bauer's research focuses on understanding how factors unique to technology (e.g., technical difficulties, adaptive training, gamification) independently and interactively (with individual differences) impact training outcomes. Positive transfer of training refers to whether trainees use what they learned in training back on the job, requiring both generalization of learning to the job and maintenance of learning over time. Her transfer of training research seeks to understand the individual and contextual factors that optimize both use and effective implementation of trained skills. She also has a passion for research methods and statistics, which is reflected in the study design and analysis strategies she utilizes.

Education

  • Ph.D., Old Dominion University, Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2013)
  • M.S., Old Dominion University, Experimental Psychology (2009)
  • M.A., George Washington University, Human Resource Management (2008)
  • B.S., University of Pittsburgh, Psychology (2006)

Publications

*Denotes Illinois Tech student author

Bauer, K. N., McAbee, S. T., & *Jackson, M. L. (2023). From classroom to kitchen: Predictors of training performance and transfer of culinary skills. Learning and Individual Differences, 105, 102315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102315

*Gandara, D. A., *Nguyen, D. K., *Suryanarayanan, K., *Green, R., *Honda, J. *Puri, N., & Bauer, K. N. (2022). Sensibility over urgency: Applying a prudent researcher standard to timelier technology research. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 15(3), 460-464. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2022.58

*Garcia M., C., & Bauer, K. N. (2021). An examination and extension of the theory of gamified learning: The moderating role of goal orientation. Simulation and Gaming, 52(4), 407-434. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878120958741

Bauer, K. N., *Garcia-Marquez, C., & *Gandara, D. A. (2020). Teaching with games and gamification: Best practices and future research needs. In S. Allen, K. Gower, & D. Allen (Eds.), Handbook of Teaching with Technology in Management, Leadership, and Business (pp. forthcoming). Edward Elgar Publishing.

May, R. W., Bauer, K. N., Seibert, G., Jaurequi, M. A., & Fincham, F. D. (2020) School burnout is related to sleep quality and perseverative cognition regulation at bedtime in young adults. Learning and Individual Differences,78, 101821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101821

Seibert, G., Bauer, K. N., May, R. W., & Fincham, F. D. (2017). Emotion regulation and academic underperformance: The role of school burnout. Learning and Individual Differences, 60, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.10.001

Kuhlman, S. T. W., Walch, S. E., Bauer, K. N., & Glenn, A. (2017). Intention to enact and enactment of gatekeeper behaviors for suicide prevention: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Prevention Science, 18, 704-715. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0786-0

Landers, R. N., Bauer, K. N., & Callan, R. C. (2017). Gamification of task performance with leaderboards: A goal setting experiment. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 508-515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.008

Morris, S. B., McAbee, S. T., Landis, R. S., & Bauer, K. N. (2017). Don't get too confident: Uncertainty in SDρ. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 10, 467-472. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2017.43

Bauer, K. N., Orvis, K. A., Ely, K., & Surface, E. A. (2016). Re-examination of motivation in learning contexts: Meta-analytically investigating the role type of motivation plays in the prediction of key training outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 31, 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-015-9401-1