Effects of topic knowledge on the allocation of processing time and cognitive effort to writing processes

Conditions of low and high knowledge about the topic of a writing task were compared in terms of the time and cognitive effort allocated to writing processes. These processes were planning ideas, translating ideas into text, and reviewing ideas and text during document composition. Directed retrospection provided estimates of the time devoted to each process, and secondary task reaction times indexed the cognitive effort expended. Topic knowledge was manipulated by selecting subjects in Experiment 1 and by selecting topics in Experiment 2. The retrospection results indicated that both low- and high-knowledge writers intermixed planning, translating, and reviewing during all phases of composing. There was no evidence that low- and high-knowledge writers adopt different strategies for allocating processing time. About 50% of writing time was devoted to translating throughout composition. From early to later phases of composing, the percentage of time devoted to planning decreased and that devoted to reviewing increased. The secondary task results showed that the degree of cognitive effort devoted to planning, translating, and reviewing depended on the task. Also, the high-knowledge writers expended less effort overall than did the low-knowledge writers; there was no difference in allocation strategy across planning, translating, and reviewing.     

Accuracy and bias in estimates of others' knowledge

Perspective-taking is central to much social interaction, but the processes by which it is accomplished are poorly understood. The current study examines accuracy and bias in one type of perspective-taking: inferences about what others know. Twenty-two New York City landmarks were presented in three conditions: Picture Only, Picture-+ Name and Name Only. Subjects estimated the proportion of short- and long-term New York City residents who could identify each landmark from its picture. They also rated their subjective recognition of the stimuli. Subjects in all three conditions were good at estimating stimulus identifiability, but their estimates were biased in the direction of their own knowledge. Estimates of the difference in identifications by short-and long-term residents were relatively inaccurate, probably because the two groups differed less than anticipated. For most but not all subjects, subjective feelings of recognition were significantly correlated with estimates of identifiability. We conclude that perceptions of the distribution of knowledge are socially shared.     

Fingerstroke time estimates for touchscreen-based mobile gaming interaction

The growing popularity of gaming applications and ever-faster mobile carrier networks have called attention to an intriguing issue that is closely related to command input performance. A challenging mirroring game service, which simultaneously provides game service to both PC and mobile phone users, allows them to play games against each other with very different control interfaces. Thus, for efficient mobile game design, it is essential to apply a new predictive model for measuring how potential touch input compares to the PC interfaces. The present study empirically tests the keystroke-level model (KLM) for predicting the time performance of basic interaction controls on the touch-sensitive smartphone interface (i.e., tapping, pointing, dragging, and flicking). A modified KLM, tentatively called the fingerstroke-level model (FLM), is proposed using time estimates on regression models.     

Empirical bayes point estimates of latent trait scores without knowledge of the trait distribution

In this paper, recent developments in empirical Bayes procedures are tied in with current work in mental test theory. Point estimators of true scores are derived for the binomial and Rasch test models. These estimators are shown to be asymptotically optimal. Smoothing and an empirical study of the behavior of empirical Bayes estimates are taken up in the final section.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Biological and Medical Sciences, Program in Psycho-Biology, Grant No. NSF GB-30779.     

Effects of route traveled on the distance estimates of children and adults

Second graders, sixth graders, and adults walked about an experimental environment containing seven stimulus locations and three large barriers. Each individual learned the environment while traveling along a prescribed route. The environment was constructed such that 12 of the interlocation distances represented the factorial combination of route (traveled vs not traveled), barrier (absent vs present), and distance (4-, 6-, and 8-ft). After criterial performance in learning the environment, each person gave distance estimates of the 12 critical distances. In general, the estimates of the length of routes that were traveled, were long and had no intervening barrier were more accurate than the estimates of the length of routes which were not traveled, were short, and had intervening barriers to prevent direct travel. In addition, for 4- and 6-ft distances, subjects overestimated barrier present paths which were not traveled relative to the other three estimates for each distance (barrier present traveled, barrier absent traveled, barrier absent not traveled). These findings emphasize the generative nature of the construction of spatial representations and suggest that functional distance, or ease of travel, does not influence this construction in a simple manner. Results are discussed in terms of the ability to coordinate spatial information with general knowledge of spatial relationships.     

Effects of pre-experimental knowledge on recognition memory

The influence of pre-experimental autobiographical knowledge on recognition memory was investigated using as memoranda faces that were either personally known or unknown to the participant. Under a dual process theory, such knowledge boosted both recollection- and familiarity-based recognition judgements. Under an unequal variance signal detection model, pre-experimental knowledge increased both the variance and the separation of the target and foil memory strength distributions, boosting hits and correct rejections. Thus, pre-experimental knowledge has profound effects on the multiple, interacting processes that subserve recognition memory, and likely in the neural systems that underpin them.     

The effects of ITI fillers in autoshaping

The present experiments used pigeons in an autoshaping procedure to examine the effects of a nonreinforced, nontarget stimulus presented during the intertrial interval on responding to a target CS. Experiments 1 and 2 found that a filler stimulus presented during a substantial portion of the ITI retarded responding to the target CS relative to a group not exposed to the filler. This group difference in performance was subsequently abolished by continued training and omitting the filler in the former group (Experiment 1) or adding a filler for the latter group (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 found that when the “filler” occupied most of the interreinforcement interval, CS-US pairings embedded within the “filler” stimulus yielded superior autoshaping relative to a group that received CS-US pairings embedded in static apparatus cues in the absence of the filler. The results are discussed with reference to the ways that a nontarget stimulus during the ITI can influence contextual modulation of responding to a discrete CS and the necessity for comparator theories to incorporate a “local context” view of cycle time to explain the present findings.     

Effects of parent education on knowledge and attitudes

This study evaluated 42 pregnant and parenting adolescents (aged 13 to 20 years) and adults (who began parenting as adolescents) enrolled in parenting classes. The Parent as a Teacher Inventory and the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory were used to measure change in knowledge and attitudes following participation in the classes. The findings indicated significant improvement as a result of parent education.     

Effects of electromyographic biofeedback on reaction time and movement time

The effects of electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback on reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) were investigated utilizing 42 right-handed, male subjects from a university population. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups, a control group and two experimental groups. Both experimental groups were exposed to their EMG signals from their triceps brachii during the task, one experimental group received written information explaining the purpose of the EMG was to improve performance through biofeedback. Reaction times of the first block of 25 trials were significantly faster than those on the subsequent three blocks of trials for all groups. This provided evidence of learning. No other significant effects for reaction times were observed. Mean movement time for the EMG-only group was significantly slower than the means of either the Control group or EMG-Biofeedback group, with no difference between the latter two. The differences between experimental groups may have been related to alteration of strategy, anxiety, motivation.     

The relationship between estimates of foreperiod duration and simple time reaction

The relationship between estimates of foreperiod length and simple reaction time (RT) was examined using constant foreperiods. It was learned that neither the average accuracy nor the variability of the foreperiod estimates necessarily manifested themselves in appropriate simple RT change. Of secondary interest was the discovery that the average accuracy of foreperiod duration estimations differed greatly from that obtained for similar time lengths in a time-estimation task. Finally, an attempt was made to determine whether subjects actually utilized the directional knowledge of results inherent in the imperative stimulus to influence their foreperiod duration judgments. Unfortunately, the evidence obtained did not permit a definite answer regarding this possibility.     

Learning effects of knowledge of results upon time estimation

College students of both sexes served as their own controls to test three hypotheses in each of two separate experiments designed to assess the learning effects of knowledge of results upon time estimation. The results indicated that (1) knowledge of results in the form of feedback to the nearest hundredth of a second significantly increased the mean accuracy of time estimations obtained by the method of production, (2) that knowledge of results significantly decreased the variance of the time estimations, and (3) that sex difference as a main effect was not significant in either experiment. A major conclusion of the present study was that variance represents an authentic and independent measure of learning.     

Behavioral estimates of interhemispheric transmission time and the signal detection method: A reappraisal

On the basis of a review of the literature, Bashore (1981) concluded that only simple reaction time experiments with manual responses yielded consistent behavioral estimates of interhemispheric transmission time. A closer look at the data, however, revealed that these experiments were the only ones in which large numbers of observations were invariably obtained from many subjects. To investigate whether the methodological flaw was the origin of Bashore’s conclusion, two experiments were run in which subjects had to react to lateralized light flashes. The first experiment dealt with manual reactions, the second with verbal reactions. Each experiment included a condition without catch trials (i.e., simple reaction time) and two conditions with catch trials. Catch trials were trials in which no stimulus was given and in which the response was to be withheld. Both experiments returned consistent estimates of interhemispheric transmission time in the range of 2–3 msec. No differences were found between the simple reaction time condition and the signal detection conditions with catch trials. Data were analyzed according to the variable criterion theory. This showed that the effect of catch trials, as well as the effect of interhemispheric transmission, was situated at the height of the detection criterion, and not in the rate of the information transmission.