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.     

A measure of within-participant response consistency

In this article, we introduce a measure of within-participant response consistency for use in the analysis of performance in decision-making tasks. The measure is an estimate of the correlation between the responses associated with two identical blocks of trials, the second of which has yet to be conducted. We derive a formula for the measure that can be applied to data from any two-choice decision task, including yes/no detection and two-alternative forced choice (2AFC). The estimate is easily calculated from the observed frequencies of hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections. We utilized data from an actual 2AFC experiment to compare estimated and observed consistency values; the estimates accounted for more than 90 % of the variability in observed consistency scores. We also discuss potential applications of the measure.     

Cross-situational consistency in recognition memory response bias

Individuals taking an old–new recognition memory test differ widely in their bias to respond “old,” ranging from strongly conservative to strongly liberal, even without any manipulation intended to affect bias. Kantner and Lindsay (2012) found stability of bias across study–test cycles, suggesting that bias is a cognitive trait. That consistency, however, could have arisen because participants perceived the two tests as being part of the same experiment in the same context. In the present study, we tested for stability across two recognition study–test procedures embedded in markedly different experiments, held weeks apart, that participants did not know were connected. Bias showed substantial cross-situational stability. Moreover, bias weakly predicted identifications on an eyewitness memory task and accuracy on a go–no-go task. Although we found little in the way of relationships between bias and five personality measures, these findings suggest that response bias is a stable and broadly influential characteristic of recognizers.     

Motor response influences perceptual awareness judgements

What is the relation between perceptual awareness and action? In this study we tested the hypothesis that motor response influences perceptual awareness judgements. We used a perceptual discrimination task in which presentation of the stimulus was immediately followed by a cue requiring a motor response that was irrelevant to the task but could be the same, opposite, or neutral to the correct response to the stimulus. After responding to the cue, participants rated their stimulus awareness using the Perceptual Awareness Scale, and then carried out their discrimination response. Participants reported a higher level of stimulus awareness after carrying out responses that were either congruent or incongruent with the response required by the stimulus, compared to the neutral condition. The results suggest that the motor response overlapping with a potential response to the stimulus provides information about the outcome of decision process and increases the reported awareness of stimuli.     

Confidence judgments in syllogistic reasoning: the role of consistency and response cardinality

In two experiments, we examined the resolution of confidence judgments in syllogistic reasoning and their heuristic bases. Based on the assumptions of Koriat's Self-Consistency Model of confidence, we expected the confidence judgments to be related to conclusion consensuality, reflecting the role of consistency as a heuristic cue to confidence. In Experiment 1, the participants evaluated 24 syllogisms with conclusions that varied with respect to validity and consensuality. In Experiment 2, the participants produced conclusions to 64 pairs of premises. The correlation between confidence and reasoning accuracy was low. In both experiments confidence was related to the consensuality of the responses. For consensually correct items, correlation between confidence and accuracy was positive; however, for consensually incorrect items it was negative. In Experiment 2, confidence was lower for syllogisms with higher response cardinality, or syllogisms that elicited a greater variety of conclusions.     

Perceived persuasiveness as a function of response style: Multi-issue consistency over time

This experiment studied the effect of an individual's response style on different issues over a long period of time. A hypothetical situation depicted the repeated responses given by one person on a target issue and on four other issues for one year. The 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design varied consistency of the stimulus person's position on the target issue during the year (consistent or variable); his consistency on other issues during the year (consistent or variable); and social context (alone or dissenting group). Subjects were 155 college students. Results showed an interaction between consistency on the target issue and consistency on other issues for the three dependent measures (p < .001). That is, significantly greater persuasiveness, confidence, and dis-positional causality were attributed to stimulus persons whose opinions were either completely consistent or completely variable on all issues during the year. Results suggest that the consistency of response style across issues—and not the constant advocacy of a specific position–is the crucial factor in the effectiveness of a long-term minority influence.     

复杂决策规则下MIRT的分类准确性和分类一致性

介绍多维项目反应理论模型下分类准确性和分类一致性指标, 采用蒙特卡罗方法实现复杂决策规则下指标计算, 并从数学上证明分类准确性指标两类估计量在均匀先验和相同决策规则条件下依概率收敛于同一真值。研究结果表明：分类准确性指标可以比较准确地评价分类结果的准确性; 分类一致性指标可以较好地评价分类结果的重测一致性; 在一定条件下, 基于能力量尺的指标优于基于原始总分的指标; 纵使测验维度增加, 估计精度仍比较好; 随着测验长度和维度间相关增加, 分类准确性和分类一致性更高。指标可以用来评价标准参照测验或计算机分类测验的多种决策规则下分类信度和效度。     

Motor response information influence on CNV shape and resolution time

This study systematically investigates changes in CNV waveform shape and resolution time that result from the presentation of facilitatory, inhibitory, or no motor response (MR) information simultaneously with the warning (S1) or imperative (S2) stimulus of the S1-S2-MR CNV paradigm. Analyses indicate that the simultaneous presentation of S1 and information to produce or inhibit a MR attenuates initial CNV development. Further, when the S1 information is inhibitive, CNV development is retarded throughout. The contribution of an inhibitory psychological process during CNV development is proposed. The data also indicate that CNV resolution time is not dependent on the presence of a motor response. It is suggested that CNV resolution time is indicative of psychological completion or closure.     

Motor response variations: peripheral and central sources of error

The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that the relative involvement of peripheral versus central nervous system activity during response variations determines the locus of error production in a subsequent criterion response. The hypothesis was tested by comparing ipsilateral and contralateral transfer of a criterion response following response variations that emphasized proportionately different involvement of the peripheral and central systems. When subjects were provided with knowledge of results (KR) to maintain a 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), ipsilateral but not contralateral bias errors occurred on a subsequent dynamic response. When subjects maintained a 30% MVC without KR, however, subsequent ipsilateral bias errors were greater than contralateral bias errors. Finally,when subjects imaged a 30% MVC, subsequent bias errors were equivalent across limbs. These results are interpreted as support for the hypothesis.     

Motor activation from visible speech: evidence from stimulus response compatibility

In speech perception, phonetic information can be acquired optically as well as acoustically. The motor theory of speech perception holds that motor control structures are involved in the processing of visible speech, whereas perceptual accounts do not make this assumption. Motor involvement in speech perception was examined by showing participants response-irrelevant movies of a mouth articulating /ba/ or /da/ and asking them to verbally respond with either the same or a different syllable. The letters "Ba" and "Da" appeared on the speaker's mouth to indicate which response was to be performed. A reliable interference effect was observed. In subsequent experiments, perceptual interference was ruled out by using response-unrelated imperative stimuli and by preexposing the relevant stimulus information. Further, it was demonstrated that simple directional features (opening and closing) do not account for the effect. Rather, the present study provides evidence for the view that visible speech is processed up to a late, response-related processing stage, as predicted by the motor theory of speech perception.     

Semantic response consistency and protocol validity in structured personality assessment: the case of the NEO-PI-R

In this study we tested the hypothesis that groups of NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992a) protocols identified as potentially invalid by an inconsistency scale (INC; Schinka, Kinder, & Kremer, 1997) would show reduced reliability and validity according to a series of psychometric tests. Data were obtained from 2 undergraduate student samples, a self-report group (n = 132) who provided NEO-PI-R self-ratings on 2 occasions separated by a 7- to 14-day interval and an informant group (n = 109) who provided ratings of well-known friends or relatives on 2 occasions separated by a 6 month interval. INC scores from the Time 1 protocols were used to divide these samples into low, moderate, and elevated inconsistency groups. In both samples, these 3 groups showed equivalent levels of reliability and validity as measured by: contingency coefficients for the 20 INC item responses across occasions; test-retest intraclass correlations of NEO-PI-R domain scores; convergent correlations with Goldberg's (1992) Bipolar Adjective Scale scores; and discriminant correlations between the 5 NEO-PI-R domain scores. The similarity of results across self-report and informant assessment contexts provides additional evidence that semantic consistency approaches to assessing protocol validity may overestimate the prevalence of random or careless response behavior in standard administration conditions. Several theories are discussed that accommodate the existence of valid inconsistency in structured personality assessment.