Motor performance and response consistency as a function of age

The specificity versus generality of motor performance and motor response consistency ws investigated as a function of age. 120 Ss, 30 each at age 7, 11, 15 and 19 yr., were given 120 practice trials (60 trials per session with 24 hr. interpolated between sessions) on both simple and choice RT tasks. For motor performance the reliability of individual differences were high in both tasks at all ages, while the amount of generality was moderately high in the two younger groups but diminished with age. The reliability coefficients for motor response consistency were low for both tasks but, with two exceptions, statistically significant. There was no evidences for generality in motor response consistency at any age.     

Positional Sequences in Two-Choice Discrimination Problems with Non-Positional Cues

Individuals seem to differ in their ability to maintain consistent performance. This is obviously an important attribute of behavior that has been largely neglected by researchers. There is, however, some evidence to suggest that, in certain types of situations, the behaviors of the mental retardate are characterized by a relatively high degree of variability. Two studies are reported here that deal with some of the developmental implications of intraindividual variability. In one study, involving retardates, reliability and generality of response consistency were examined in reaction time, time estimation, and digit span tasks. It was shown that individual differences in consistency are reliable and that these generalize across tasks. A second experiment was concerned with the developmental aspects of variability. First-, third-, and fifth-grade pupils and college students were given many trials on a reaction-time task. A variety of measures, reflecting typical performance, limit of performance, and variability, were computed for each subject. The ability to react quickly shows a developmental trend not only with respect to overall performance, but also in the efficiency with whichthe individual maintains his optimal level of responding.     

Intra-Limb Specificity of Motor Response Consistency

Two separate experiment using motor responses evaluated the specificity vs. generality of response consistency when the various tasks used the same limb for response. In Exp. I four similar tasks requiring rapid right arm movement were defined and, in Exp. II, Ss had to “hit” a moving target with either a maximal or moderately fast right hand movement. Although the mean intercorrelations among tasks were generally moderate to low (mean r = .85 and .30, respectively for Exp. I and II) the intercorrelations using response consistency scores (the SD of S’s responses about his own mean) were lower for Exp. I (mean r = .54) and similar for Exp. II (mean r = .30). These findings provided little support for a notion of a general within-limb factor of motor response consistency.     

Consistency and error in motor performance

Two response measures that described the consistency and accuracy of motor performance were investigated. A pursuit tracking task was used as the vehicle whereby changes in perceptual motor performance could be monitored over several learning trials. The intra-individual variability of a subject's tracking response was compared to the root mean squared error that was accumulated during each block of trials. Whereas both response measures were sensitive to the changes in performance that occured as a result of practice, neither could be considered sufficiently informative as to be used as a sole indicator of skill acquisition. It appears that both consistency and error measures are needed to describe the subjects' performance as they acquire a perceptual motor skill.     

The domain specificity and generality of overconfidence: Individual differences in performance estimation bias

One hundred twenty-three college students performed a knowledge assessment task and a game of motor skill in which they had to predict their performance before each block of trials. There was a bias in the direction of overconfidence on both tasks, even though the latter involved the motor domain, did not require the use of numeric probabilities, and allowed predictions to be made by using an aggregate judgment made in a frequentist mode. An analysis of individual differences indicated that there was considerable domain specificity in confidence judgments. However, participants who persevered in showing overconfidence in the motor task—despite previous feedback revealing their overconfident performance predictions—were significantly more overconfident in the knowledge calibration task than were participants who moderated their motor performance predictions so as to remove their bias toward overconfidence. The latter finding is consistent with explanations of overconfidence effects that implicate mechanisms with some degree of domain generality.     

Executive control in set switching: residual switch cost and task-set inhibition.

Executive processes necessary for flexibly switching between different tasks were studied using a set switching paradigm that requires participants to rapidly switch between different tasks across consecutive trials. Switch cost reflects poorer performance for task-switch trials than for consecutive same-task trials. Significant switch cost was observed even with considerable preparation time before a task-switch, an effect known as residual switch cost. This study tested the hypothesis that one process underlying residual switch cost is inhibition of the previous task-set. We used semantic categorization tasks to compare switch cost between alternating task series (ABA) and nonalternating series (ABC) in order to test the generality of a task-set inhibition effect previously observed with perceptual judgment tasks (Mayr & Keele, in press). The results yielded significant switch cost only for alternating tasks, in both response times and errors resulting from performance of the wrong task. Thus, resolving inhibition associated with previously abandoned task-sets may be the main process underlying residual switch costs, suggesting that task-set inhibition is an important executive control process.     

Transfer as a function of exploration and stabilization in original practice

The identification of practice conditions that provide flexibility to perform successfully in transfer is a long-standing issue in motor learning but is still not well understood. Here we investigated the hypothesis that a search strategy that encompasses both exploration and stabilization of the perceptual-motor workspace will enhance performance in transfer. Twenty-two participants practiced a virtual projection task (120 trials on each of 3 days) and subsequently performed two transfer conditions (20 trials/condition) with different constraints in the angle to project the object. The findings revealed a quadratic relation between exploration in practice (indexed by autocorrelation and distribution of error) and subsequent performance error in transfer. The integration of exploration and stabilization of the perceptual-motor workspace enhances transfer to tasks with different constraints on the scaling of motor output.     

Learning and performance effects of accurate and erroneous knowledge of results on time perception

Performance feedback (also known as knowledge of results or KR) has both performance and learning effects on many tasks. Earlier studies have demonstrated performance but not learning effects on time perception tasks. In this experiment, we dissociate and identify these two phenomena on two different time perception tasks. Participants were presented with either accurate (100%) or erroneous (80% or 120% of actual performance) KR on either a reproduction or a numerical estimation time perception task. Accurate (100%) KR reduced the group variability and increased the accuracy of response magnitude but left individual variability unchanged. Erroneous (80% or 120%) KR also reduced the group variability while leaving individual variation unchanged, but decreased the true accuracy of the response, with response magnitudes increasing for the 80% KR group and decreasing for the 120% group. Thus external KR that is in conflict with internal time cues overrides these internal cues and dictates response magnitude on these two tasks. Thus KR provides guidance for these behaviors. KR did not reduce the variability (dispersion) of participants' responses, but centered each participant's responses closer to the targeted performance. This decreased group response variability reflected a performance enhancing effect of KR because group response variability increased after KR was withdrawn. In contrast, response magnitudes remained changed for the duration of the post-KR period, indicating that KR also induced a learned response. Thus individual response variability, group response variability and response magnitude represent dissociable features of performance on these time perception tasks.     

Stability and consistency of children’s event recall

The purpose of the study was to investigate consistency of recall across different tasks of event recall (similar to eyewitness tasks) and stability of performance across two different events. Additionally, developmental differences in consistency and stability were explored. 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children were subsequently shown two different events (videos) and were questioned about each event in two separate interviews. For both videos, performance levels in free recall, unbiased cued recall, and suggestibility were at similar levels, with older children generally outperforming younger children. As to intertask consistency of recall, there were significant correlations between correct free recall and correct unbiased cued recall but not between correct free recall and yielding to suggestive questions. All three measures of eyewitness performance showed significant group stability (test-retest correlations) across the two interviews, regardless of age. However, individual stability (lability) was lower, which points to moderate individual differences in stability across the two interviews. The findings are discussed in terms of underlying cognitive skills and the problem of predicting a single child’s memory performance in real cases of eyewitness testimony.     

Regulating cognitive control through approach-avoidance motor actions

In two studies, the regulatory function of approach-avoidance cues in activating cognitive control processes was investigated. It was hypothesized that avoidance motor actions, relative to approach motor actions, increase the recruitment of cognitive resources, resulting in better performance on tasks that draw on these capacities. In Study 1, error rates on a verbal response mode version of the Stroop task were analyzed. On inconsistent Stroop trials, participants in the avoidance condition made significantly fewer errors than those in the approach condition. In Study 2, performance differences on a task switching paradigm were investigated. Crucially, approach and avoidance motor actions were manipulated within-subjects by alternating between approach and avoidance motor actions on 4 blocks of trials. Temporal switching costs were significantly lower while performing an avoidance, compared to an approach motor action. These results support our hypothesis that avoidance cues, relative to approach cues, lead to improved performance on cognitive control tasks.     

Of beasties and butterflies: Evidence for the stability and domain-specificity of individual differences in categorization

Previous research has failed to demonstrate unambiguously the relative stability across time and consistency across tasks of individual differences in categorization, or categorization breadth The present study of categorizing behavior in college students assesses breadth at each of four points in time over a six-week period Results are consistent with an interpretation of breadth as a highly stable individual difference variable, but one that is constrained by the nature of the stimulus sets employed High stability coefficients were observed for each of two redundant tasks In contrast, cross-task consistency indices were generally low Personality correlates of breadth were similarly weak and inconsistent Several variables are suggested that may attenuate the generality of categorization breadth The existence of multiple styles of categorization is discussed     

Restraint and Cancellation: Multiple Inhibition Deficits in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

We used variations of the stop signal task to study two components of motor response inhibition—the ability to withhold a strong response tendency (restraint) and the ability to cancel an ongoing action (cancellation)—in children with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and in non-ADHD controls of similar age (ages 7–14 years). The goal was to determine if restraint and cancellation were related and if both were deficient in ADHD. The stop signal task involved a choice reaction time task (go task) which required a rapid response. The demand for inhibitory control was invoked through the presentation of a stop signal on a subset of go trials which required that the ongoing response be suspended. The stop signal was presented either concurrently with the go signal (restraint version) or after a variable delay (cancellation version). In Study 1, we compared ADHD and control children on the cancellation version of the stop task; in Study 2, we compared ADHD and controls on the restraint version. In Study 3, a subset of ADHD and control participants completed both tasks so that we could examine convergence of these dimensions of inhibition. Compared to control participants, ADHD participants showed a deficit both in the ability to cancel and to restrain a speeded motor response. Performance on the restraint version was significantly correlated with performance on the cancellation version in controls, but not in ADHD participants. We conclude that ADHD is associated with deficits in both restraint and cancellation subcomponents of inhibition.     

Multivariate relationships among visual-perceptual attributes and gross-motor tasks with different environmental demands

This study investigated the multivariate inter-relationships of five visual perceptual variables (coincidence anticipation, field dependence/independence, perceptual speed, peripheral range, and spatial relations) and two performance stages of two gross motor tasks. The motor tasks, a ball task and a nonball task, had different temporal environmental demands. Eighty randomly selected women enrolled In general college physical education classes performed six trials of both motor tasks on two days. Promax factor analysis produced five factors accounting for 81% of the total variability and three low but significant (p less than.05) interfactor correlations. Factor I (ability to perform the ball task) was related both to Factor IV (ability to anticipate coincidence) and to Factor II (ability to extract and inter-relate pertinent environmental information). Factor III (ability to relate to the total environment and perform the nonball task) was related to Factor V (ability to detect motion peripherally).     

Contingency learning with evaluative stimuli: testing the generality of contingency learning in a performance paradigm

In two experiments, we tested the generality of the learning effects in the recently-introduced color-word contingency learning paradigm. Participants made speeded evaluative judgments to valenced target words. Each of a set of distracting nonwords was presented most often with either positive or negative target words. We observed that participants responded faster on trials that respected these contingencies than on trials that contradicted the contingencies. The contingencies also produced changes in liking: in a subsequent explicit evaluative rating task, participants rated positively-conditioned nonwords more positively than negatively-conditioned nonwords. Interestingly, contingency effects in the performance task correlated with this explicit rating effect in both experiments. In Experiment 2, all effects reported were independent of subjective and objective contingency awareness (which was completely lacking), even when awareness was measured at the item level. Our results reveal that learning in this type of performance task extends to nonword-valence contingencies and to responses different from those emitted during the performance task. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories about the processes that underlie contingency learning in performance tasks and for research on evaluative conditioning.     

Attentional WM is not necessarily specifically related with fluid intelligence: the case of smart children with ADHD symptoms

Executive functions and, in particular, Attentional (active) Working Memory (WM) have been associated with fluid intelligence. The association contrasts with the hypothesis that children with ADHD exhibit problems with WM tasks requiring controlled attention and may have a good fluid intelligence. This paper examines whether children who are intelligent but present ADHD symptoms fail in attentional WM tasks. The latter result would be problematic for theories assuming the generality of a strict relationship between intelligence and WM. To study these issues, a battery of tests was administered to a group of 58 children who all displayed symptoms of ADHD. All children were between the age of 8 and 11 years, and were described by their teachers as smart. Children were compared to a control group matched for age, schooling, and gender. The battery included a test of fluid intelligence (Raven’s Coloured Matrices), and a series of visuospatial WM tasks. Results showed that children with ADHD were high in intelligence but significantly lower than the controls in WM tasks requiring high attentional control, whereas there was no difference in WM tasks requiring low attentional control. Furthermore, only high attentional control WM tasks were significantly related to Raven’s performance in the control group, whereas all WM tasks were similarly related in the ADHD group. It is concluded that performance in high attentional control WM tasks may be related to fluid intelligence, but also to a specific control component that is independent of intelligence and is poor in children with ADHD.     

Self-regulation of stimulation for ADD-H children during reading and vigilance task performance

The present study examines the hypothesis that motor responses added into rote tasks would modulate the sensation-seeking activity and impulsive errors of hyperactive (ADD-H) children. To this purpose 22 ADD-H and 25 comparison children were administered two repetitive tasks (word decoding and an auditory vigilance task) under both an active response and a passive response condition. Findings were that the impulsive errors, talking/noise-making, and activity of ADD-H children was normalized (i.e., did not differ from comparison children) only in the high stimulation active response conditions. Behavioral improvements for ADD-H children were documented in both tasks in the active condition, but performance gains were found only in the vigilance task. The findings supported predictions derived from the optimal stimulation theory that the excessive activity and attraction to novel stimuli of ADD-H children can be channeled into appropriate instrumental motor and attention responses.We thank Anne Dwyer for her help with data collection, and Phyllis Kikendall, Sylvia Kottler, Joe Boggs, and Cheryl Wieczorek for their assistance at various stages of this project. We are also most grateful to Martha Eger and to the teachers, Sally Schnieder and Denise Oliver, of West Central Joint Special Services, to Pat Welch of the Catholic Social Services, and to the teachers of St. Ann's School and St. Philip Neri School for their cooperation with this research.     

ASSESSING PERCEIVED SELF EFFICACY IN RELATION TO MATHEMATICS TASKS: A STUDY OF THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF ASSESSMENT

Summary . This study investigated aspects of the reliability and validity of assessing perceived self efficacy in relation to mathematics tasks. Perceived self efficacy was assessed in two modes, a direct and generalised mode for two mathematics tasks. Self efficacy assessment was conducted over five trials in a repeated measures design with 72 children, age 9–10 years. Performance accuracy at the tasks was assessed after the first and fourth self efficacy assessment. Results showed moderate to high test-retest and inter-interviewer reliability for the self efficacy measures. Results also indicated discriminant validity for self efficacy judgments for different tasks. There was evidence for the association between self efficacy and task performance and mathematics self concept. The study confirms some limited aspects of reliability and validity of self efficacy assessment, but not for the construct in its assumed causal influence on performance attainment.     

Motor limitation in dual-task processing with different effectors

According to the extended bottleneck model, dual-task interference does not arise only from a central bottleneck but also from processing limitations at the motor stage. Evidence for this assumption has previously been found only for same-effector tasks but not for different-effector tasks. In order to examine the existence of motor interference with different effectors, we used the psychological refractory period paradigm and employed response sequences of different length in Task 1 (R1 sequence length). Experiment 1 incorporated vocal response sequences in Task 1 and a manual response in Task 2. In Experiment 2, the assignment of the effectors to the two tasks was reversed. In both experiments, the long R1 sequence prolonged reaction time for Task 2 (RT2), and this effect was reduced with decreasing temporal overlap of the two tasks. Thus, the present experiments demonstrate motor interference between different-effector tasks. This interference may be due to on-line programming or to central response monitoring.     

The lateralized effects of concurrent cognitive and motor performance

Subjects were required to simultaneously tap two button switches, at two different distances apart, while at the same time performing a running memory span (RMS) task of either words or faces. Performance on the button-pressing task was assessed in terms of both speed and consistency. When the switches were close together, both of these measures showed leftand right-hand performance to be selectively disrupted by concurrent performance of faces and words memory tasks, respectively. With the switches further apart, selective disruption of the contralateral hand occurred only with thespeed index. Using the consistency index, however, bilateral disruption was observed with both types of RMS tasks. Error and d’ performance on the words and faces RMS tasks was only disrupted by contralateral manual activity. Some implications of these results for neuropsychological models of brain lateralization of function are discussed.     

Nonword repetition in children and adults: effects on movement coordination

Hearing and repeating novel phonetic sequences, or novel nonwords, is a task that taps many levels of processing, including auditory decoding, phonological processing, working memory, speech motor planning and execution. Investigations of nonword repetition abilities have been framed within models of psycholinguistic processing, while the motor aspects, which also are critical for task performance, have been largely ignored. We focused our investigation on both the behavioral and speech motor performance characteristics of this task as performed in a learning paradigm by 9‐ and 10‐year‐old children and young adults. Behavioral (percent correct productions) and kinematic (movement duration, lip aperture variability – an index of the consistency of inter‐articulator coordination on repeated trials) measures were obtained in order to investigate the short‐term (Day 1, first five vs. next five trials) and longer‐term (Day 1 vs. Day 2, first five vs. next five trials) changes associated with practice within and between sessions. Overall, as expected, young adults showed higher levels of behavioral accuracy and greater levels of coordinative consistency than the children. Both groups, however, showed a learning effect, such that in general, later Day 1 trials and Day 2 trials were shorter in duration and more consistent in coordination patterns than Day 1 early trials. Phonemic complexity of the nonwords had a profound effect on both the behavioral and speech motor aspects of performance. The children showed marked learning effects on all nonwords that they could produce accurately, while adults’ performance improved only when challenged by the more complex nonword stimuli in the set. The findings point to a critical role for speech motor processes within models of nonword repetition and suggest that young adults, similar to children, show short‐ and longer‐term improvements in coordinative consistency with repeated production of complex nonwords. There is also a clear developmental change in nonword production performance, such that less complex novel sequences elicit changes in speech motor performance in children, but not in adults.