The Effect of Mental Practice on Performance in a Sequential Reaction Time Task

The effect of mental practice on performance in a dot-location RT task was investigated. Participants (N = 40) were required either to mentally practice, physically practice, or do no practice on an RT task in which the signals appeared in a repeating sequence. Correct mental practice, as opposed to incorrect mental practice and no practice, was predicted to have a positive (enhancing) effect on performance of the RT task. Despite previous evidence that mental rehearsal does enhance performance in many perceptual-motor tasks, neither correct nor incorrect mental rehearsal affected subsequent sequence learning; that is, no mental practice effect was observed. That surprising result is discussed in terms of motivational, psychoneuromuscular, separate memory systems, and transfer-appropriate processing explanations of mental practice.     

The Effect of Practice on Human Performance in a Preview-Constrained Motor Control Task

This study examined the effect of short-term practice on the parameters of a linear model involving mean arm movement time as a function of Fitts’s index of difficulty (ID) variable and a preview-constraint ID variable. Significant (at the 2% level) interactions were found to exist between practice and the two ID variables indicating that the model parameters associated with these variables are both linear functions of practice time.     

Attentional Advice: Effects on Immediate,Delayed,and Transfer Task Performance

Attentional advice entails providing information to trainees about the process or strategy they could use to optimize learning during practice. The effects of providing attentional advice before practicing the task on immediate, delayed, and transfer performances were examined. One hundred-sixteen participants engaged in procedural product assembly tasks (i.e., building LegoÓ models) with supply management duties. Those who received attentional advice made significantly higher profits than those not receiving advice across all performance intervals. Benefits of attentional advice to facilitate practice are discussed.     

数据-笔墨比率对过程监控任务绩效的影响

以24名参加飞行员心理选拔的大学生为被试,采用模拟过程监控任务,以反应时、心理负荷与情境意识为指标,考察了数据-笔墨比率在动态图形显示设计中的应用。研究结果表明,低数据-笔墨比率显示条件下的反应时较短、情境意识较高,即适当增加表达数据点之间关系的笔墨虽然会降低数据一笔墨比率,但有助于监控绩效。实验结果说明,在将静态图形显示的设计原则运用于动态显示设计时,应对其适用性进行检测。     

The Effect of Fatigue on Learning and Performance of a Gross Motor Task

40 college males were sequentially assigned to 1 of 2 groups to examine the effects of induced physical fatigue upon the performance and learning of a gross motor task, the stabilometer. All Ss were given 32 practice trials over 3 practice sessions, with 48 hr. rest interpolated between sessions. Trials 1 and 2 were performed under control conditions (no fatigue) for both groups. The Experimental Group was then required to perform under conditions of physical fatigue during Trials 3-26. Trials 27-32 (Session 3) were performed under control conditions. The condition of fatigue was achieved on Trials 3-26 by having Ss pedal a bicycle ergometer until a heart rate of 180 beats/min was attained prior to each trial. The Control Group cancelled vowels. The results indicated that physical fatigue was detrimental to the performance and learning of the Experimental Group.     

How a Reflection Intervention Improves the Effect of Learning Goals on Performance Outcomes in a Complex Decision-Making Task

We aim to advance the learning goal literature by examining the contingent effect of a reflection intervention on the relationship between learning goals and performance in a complex decision-making task. Data were obtained from a laboratory experiment with a microworld simulation as the experimental task. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the four conditions in a 2 × 2 (reflection intervention: yes vs. no; learning goals: easier vs. more challenging) between-subjects design (N = 140). Our findings suggest that both learning goals and reflection interventions are effective learning mechanisms in complex tasks. Reflection interventions strengthen the positive performance effect of learning goals. Specifically, the combination of a reflection intervention and more challenging learning goals leads to the highest performance. In the current dynamic business environment, effectively solving complex decision-making tasks is an enduring challenge. By integrating the reflection literature with goal-setting theory, we provide evidence of the joint effect of a reflection intervention and learning goals on subsequent task performance. Our findings help scholars and practitioners to design effective learning interventions to solve complex decision-making tasks. Our study is the first to investigate the joint effect of a reflection intervention (particularly, coached feedback reflection) and learning goals on task performance. Additionally, we are among the first to examine the combined use of learning goals and performance goals in a complex decision-making task.     

The Effect of Attitude Similarity on Task Performance1

It was hypothesized in a two-person situation that students would perform significantly better on intellectual tasks when paired with a liked other than when paired with a disliked other. In a laboratory experiment, 108 male undergraduates performed one of three types of intellectual tasks with an attitudinally similar or dissimilar partner or with a partner about whom the subject had no attitude information. Individuals paired with a similar partner felt affectively more positive than those paired with a dissimilar partner (p < .01). Individuals paired with a similar other performed significantly better on the tasks than those paired with a dissimilar partner (p < .01).     

The Effect of Crowding on Human Task Performance1

In a series of three experiments, groups of people performed tasks under varying conditions of density. The tasks ranged from very simple to complex, from rote memory to a test of creativity. Subjects worked on the tasks for 4 hours at a time for two or three successive days. There were no significant effects of density on performance, nor any consistent trends.     

The Interactive Effects of Task and External Feedback on Practice Performance and Learning

The interactions of task and external feedback on practice performance and learning were examined. While external feedback was consistently beneficial to performance during practice, regardless of the availability of feedback from the task, it was detrimental to learning when the task provided little feedback. External feedback benefited learning only when feedback was also available from the task. In addition, task feedback benefited learning, partially due to its effects on error detection and correction skills. Results suggest the importance of examining the simultaneous provision of feedback from different sources, studying the role of task feedback in learning, and more cleanly assessing learning to avoid confounding it with transient performance improvements.     

The Effects of Identity-Relevance and Task Difficulty on Task Motivation,Stress, and Performance

Tested the hypothesis that the identity-relevance of a performance domain would predict task motivation, stress, and actual performance. Psychology majors and non-majors (N = 94) completed either moderately difficult or very difficulty questions from a standardized verbal aptitude test. Before the test participants were told that performance on the test was either predictive of success as a psychologist (identity-relevant condition) or were given no information on the predictive ability of the test (control condition). Results revealed that only psychology majors evidenced higher motivation and stress in the identity-relevant condition in comparison to the control condition. The results of actual test performance revealed that when identity-relevance was high, psychology majors tended to do better than non-majors on a task of moderate difficulty, but tended to do worse on a task of high difficulty. Implications of the results for identity-relevance as a motivational and emotional lynchpin for performance are discussed. The author would like to thank Cynthia Ellison, Melissa Kinder, and Kelly Riddle for their assistance in data collection. A paper based on the results of the present study was presented at the 2004 meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association and was the co-recipient of the outstanding professional paper award.     

The Effect of Musical Mode on Verbal and Spatial Task Performance

Music in the major mode is often associated with happy feelings, which could enhance task performance, compared with that in the minor mode, which is associated more with sadness. Male and female participants (N = 48) completed written verbal and spatial reasoning tests while a piece of music in F major by Handel was being played, and again when the same piece was digitally manipulated to create a version in the minor mode. The confounding variable of using two different compositions was thus avoided. Results showed that the music in the major mode was rated more emotionally positive by both sexes than was the minor mode version (p ≤ .001). Performance by females on verbal tasks was significantly enhanced with major mode music, compared with the minor (p = .018), but there were no such findings for other combinations of sex and task. Also with major mode music only, there were trends for females to score higher than males on verbal tasks, and for males to score the highest on spatial tasks. Reasons for the research findings are suggested.     

Effect of an Audience on Performance of a Motor Task

40 College Ss were placed in 4 groups and tested on a star-tracing task on 2 occasions under the following conditions: spectators-no-spectators; spectators-spectators; no-spectators-no-spectators; no-spectators—spectators. It was found that the presence or absence of spectators had no noticeable effect on the initial learning phase as contrasted to later stages of performance. When conditions remained the same on both testing occasions, less errors were made. Speed was generally quicker under altered task conditions.     

The Effects of Self-Esteem,Task Label,and Performance Feedback on Task Liking and Intrinsic Motivation

Abstract

American undergraduate students' task liking and intrinsic motivation were examined using 2 × 2 × 2 (Self-Esteem × Task Label × Feedback) analyses of variance. Identical tasks were labeled as either difficult or easy, and bogus performance feedback was given randomly to each subject. For subjects with high self-esteem, feedback had strong impact on their liking of a difficult task, whereas for those with low self-esteem, feedback had strong impact on liking of an easy task. After positive feedback for performing a difficult task, subjects with high self-esteem increased task liking, whereas those with low self-esteem decreased task liking. Subjects also showed higher intrinsic motivation after positive feedback than after negative feedback.     

The Effects of Task and Interpersonal Cohesiveness on Performance of a Disjunctive Group Task1

This experiment examined the effects of two different types of group cohesiveness on performance of a disjunctive task. Both interpersonal and task cohesiveness were varied independently. Results show that high levels of both types of cohesiveness were necessary for success on a task requiring group interaction. Groups high on one type of cohesiveness but low on another performed no better than groups low on both types of cohesiveness. These results suggest that cohesiveness should be conceptualized as a multidimensional rather than as a unitary variable. It is also suggested that the effects noted in the present study may well vary according to task characteristics.     

The Effect of Delayed Responding on Stroop-Like Task Performance Among Preschoolers

Forty-four preschoolers completed 2 conditions of a Stroop-like procedure (e.g., saying “boat” for car and “car” for boat) that differed in whether a 3-s delay was imposed before responding. The test card was visible during the delay period for half of the children and occluded for the other children. Preschoolers’ interference control was significantly improved in the delay condition. There was no difference between the two delay variants (test card visible or occluded). Children were more prone to interference as testing progressed regardless of whether the delay was present. These results suggest that delays effectively reduce interference by reducing the potency of the competing response during test trials, although memory demands may moderate the effectiveness of delays.     

Implicit Theories versus the Social Construal of Ability in Self-Regulation and Performance on a Complex Task

The present experiment examined the relative impacts of implicit theories and the social construal of ability as either a fixed entity or an incremental skill on self-efficacy, affective reactions, self-set goals, and performance on a complex group-management task. It was also a novel task for participants. Participants who had an implicit theory that group-management ability is an incremental skill that can be acquired with experience developed stronger self-efficacy, maintained more positive affect, and set themselves more challenging goals across multiple trials. They also outperformed participants with a fixed-entity theory of group-management ability. Some of the motivational benefits of an incremental-skill conception were lost when the social construal of managerial ability emphasized a fixed-entity conception. However, the negative motivational effects of a fixed-entity theory of ability were not ameliorated by the social construal of managerial ability as an incremental skill. The effects of conceptions of ability were fully mediated by the self-regulatory responses of participants. The hypothesis that self-efficacy moderates the impact of ability conceptions on self-set goal challenges was not supported.     

Effects of Stimulus Color,Pattern, and Practice on Sex Differences in Mental Rotations Task Performance

Redundant color information improved performance for both sexes on the Shepard Mental Rotations Task (MRT; Shepard & Metzler, 1971). Absolute score gains for women were larger than those for men; therefore, relative improvement was greater. Substantial practice effects, also favoring women, were apparent in both studies. Study 1 showed that redundant color improved performance by 0.25 SD. Study 2 demonstrated that redundant black-and-white pattern information did not have any effect; a second visuospatial channel, redundant color, was a critical factor in improving scores of men and women on difficult mental rotations tasks.     

The Effect of Process Feedback and Task Complexity on Personal Goals,Information Searching,and Performance Improvement1

This study concerned the joint effects of the richness of the feedback environment and task complexity on the development of goals, information search strategies, and performance improvement. A decision-making experiment found interactive effects of feedback and complexity on the number of personal goals, information search, and performance improvement. Further, goals and information search mediated the effect of feedback and complexity on performance over time.     

刻板印象威胁下价值肯定对任务表现的缓冲作用

本研究考察了在多重威胁框架下,价值肯定干预对女大学生在刻板印象威胁下的认知任务表现的作用,并比较了群体价值肯定和自我价值肯定的影响差异.实验1发现在群体目标刻板印象威胁下,群体价值肯定降低了受威胁个体的任务表现水平,被试在任务中表现出更大的Stroop干扰效应;实验2发现在自我目标刻板印象威胁下,群体价值肯定和自我价值...     

The Effect of LPC Narrowband Processing and Bit Error Rate on Performance in a Sentence Verification Task

The comprehension of narrowband digital speech with bit errors was tested using a sentence verification task. The difficulty of the verification task was varied by using predicates that were either strongly or weakly related to the subjects (e.g., A toad has warts./A toad has eyes.). The test conditions included unprocessed speech and speech processed using a 2,400 bitdsec linear predictive coding (LPC) voice processing algorithm with random bit error rates of 0%, 2%, and 5%. In general, response accuracy decreased and reaction time (RT) increased with LPC processing and with increasing bit error rates. Weakly related true sentences and strongly related false sentences were more difficult than strongly related true sentences and weakly related false sentences, respectively. Interactions between sentence type and speech processing conditions are discussed. The longer time taken to react to degraded speech has implications for performance in military combat situa- tions where split-second decisions are required. The higher error rates with degraded sentences that contain little contextual information are particularly relevant to policy conversations that use a varied vocabulary.