The use of control charts by laypeople and hospital decision-makers for guiding decision making

Graphs presenting healthcare data are increasingly available to support laypeople and hospital staff’s decision making. When making these decisions, hospital staff should consider the role of chance—that is, random variation. Given random variation, decision-makers must distinguish signals (sometimes called special-cause data) from noise (common-cause data). Unfortunately, many graphs do not facilitate the statistical reasoning necessary to make such distinctions. Control charts are a less commonly used type of graph that support statistical thinking by including reference lines that separate data more likely to be signals from those more likely to be noise. The current work demonstrates for whom (laypeople and hospital staff) and when (treatment and investigative decisions) control charts strengthen data-driven decision making. We present two experiments that compare people’s use of control and non-control charts to make decisions between hospitals (funnel charts vs. league tables) and to monitor changes across time (run charts with control lines vs. run charts without control lines). As expected, participants more accurately identified the outlying data using a control chart than using a non-control chart, but their ability to then apply that information to more complicated questions (e.g., where should I go for treatment?, and should I investigate?) was limited. The discussion highlights some common concerns about using control charts in hospital settings.     

Application of Latent Semantic Analysis to Divergent Thinking is Biased by Elaboration

Scoring divergent‐thinking response sets has always been challenging because such responses are not only open‐ended in terms of number of ideas, but each idea may also be expressed by a varying number of concepts and, thus, by a varying number of words (elaboration). While many current studies have attempted to score the semantic distance in divergent‐thinking responses by applying latent semantic analysis (LSA), it is known from other areas of research that LSA‐based approaches are biased according to the number of words in a response. Thus, the current article aimed to identify and demonstrate this elaboration bias in LSA‐based divergent‐thinking scores by means of a simulation. In addition, we show that this elaboration bias can be reduced by removing the stop words (for example, and, or, for and so forth) prior to analysis. Furthermore, the residual bias after stop word removal can be reduced by simulation‐based corrections. Finally, we give an empirical illustration for alternate uses and consequences tasks. Results suggest that when both stop word removal and simulation‐based bias correction are applied, convergent validity should be expected to be highest.     

Anfänge und Entwicklung der Leistungsmotivation: (II.) in der Zielsetzung des Kleinkindes

Ohne ZusammenfassungDiese Arbeit ist Herrn Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Metzger zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Task integration as a factor in secondary-task effects on sequence learning

In several studies it has been found that implicit sequence learning is impaired by the concurrent performance of a secondary task. In most studies the task was to count high-pitched tones when high-pitched and low-pitched tones were presented in a random sequence. In this paper the hypothesis is examined that dual-task interference in the particular combination of tasks results from task integration, in particular from the learning of an integrated visual-auditory sequence in which every second (auditory) element is random. Instead of the tone-counting task a similar go/no-go task was used in which foot responses to high-pitched tones were performed. In Exp. 1 the sequence of tones was random in one condition, but in two other conditions repeated tone sequences of 5 and 6 elements were combined with visual sequences of 6 elements. Under dual-task test conditions, implicit learning of the visual as well as the auditory sequences was better with the auditory sequence of 6 elements than of 5 elements, while under single-task test conditions the nature of the tone sequence had no effect. In Exp. 2 the superior implicit learning with the 6-element sequence was replicated with different test procedures in which either the visual or auditory sequence was changed to random or in which the two sequences remained intact but were shifted by one element relative to each other. Randomization of the visual or auditory sequences not only impaired visual or auditory RT, respectively, but also impaired RT to stimuli in the other modality, and this cross-modal effect was almost as strong as the intra-modal effect of randomization. Finally, in Exp. 3 it was shown that integrated visual-auditory sequences are learned only when responses to both of them are required, but not when the tones can be neglected. These results are consistent with a conception of implicit learning as (at least partly) a basic and nonselective type of learning of all potentially behaviorally relevant relations between stimuli in the environment and one's own actions.     

The use of commitment techniques to support weight loss maintenance in obese adolescents

Objectives: Obesity is a rising problem in adolescents related to unhealthy behaviours. Commitment devises are one type of behavioural intervention that may help people change their behaviours. The current pilot trial tests whether commitment devices delivered via text message help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.

Methods: During a 12-week pilot trial, adolescents who attended a weight loss camp were randomly assigned to either received text messages that contained only information, i.e. advice, about weight loss management (n = 13) or asked for them to commit to following the same advise (n = 14).

Results: The BMI of the adolescents in the commitment group did not change. In contrast, the BMI of adolescents in the information group increased. A linear regression revealed that group was a significant predictor of BMI change. A logistic regression revealed that adolescents in the information group were nearly eight times more likely to regain weight than those in the commitment group.

Conclusions: This is the first study with adolescents to show weight maintenance using a commitment device. The results suggest that commitment devices can help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.     

Testing enhances subsequent learning in older but not in younger elementary school children

In adults, testing can enhance subsequent learning by reducing interference from the tested information. Here, we examined this forward effect of testing in children. Younger and older elementary school children and adult controls studied four lists of items in anticipation of a final cumulative recall test. Following presentation of each of the first three lists, participants were immediately tested on the respective list, or the list was re‐presented for additional study. Results revealed that, compared to additional study, immediate testing of Lists 1–3 enhanced memory for the subsequently studied List 4 in adults and older elementary school children, but not in younger elementary school children. The findings indicate that the forward effect of testing is a relatively late‐maturing phenomenon that develops over middle childhood and is still inefficient in the early elementary school years. Together with the results of other recent studies, these findings point to a more general problem in young children in combating interference.     

Kooperatives Lernen mit Videokonferenzen: Gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion und individueller Lernerfolg

Summary. Desktop video conferencing enables learners to cooperate while being spatially apart, and to communicate synchronously while working on a collaborative task. Yet, little is known about both the collaborative knowledge construction in these technological settings and the adequate methods of supporting this activity. Therefore, we conducted an empirical study with the following research questions: (1) To what extent does the mode of dyadic collaboration (net-based vs. face-to-face) and the kind of structural support (content-specific vs. content-unspecific) influence the collaborative knowledge construction? (2) To what extent do these factors influence both the individual learning outcomes and the dyadic divergence of learning partners' individual outcomes? Analyzing mean values of collaborative knowledge construction and learning outcome variables, we did not find differences between face-to-face and videoconferencing groups. However, the dyadic divergence of learning partners' individual transfer knowledge was influenced by the learning conditions. The results of this exploratory study are discussed in their relevance for future research on cooperative learning and videoconferencing. Zusammenfassung. Videokonferenzsysteme ermöglichen es, dass sich Lernpartner an verschiedenen Orten aufhalten und bei der Bearbeitung einer gemeinsamen Aufgabe zeitgleich über eine audiovisuelle Verbindung miteinander kommunizieren. Bislang ist kaum untersucht, wie Lernende in videokonferenzbasierten Lernumgebungen gemeinsam Wissen konstruieren und welche Formen instruktionaler Unterstützung dafür angemessen sind. In einer empirischen Untersuchung sind wir deshalb u. a. folgenden Fragestellungen nachgegangen: (1) Inwieweit beeinflussen der Kooperationsmodus (Netz vs. Face-to-face) und die Art des Struktu (inhaltsspezifisch vs. inhaltsunspezifisch) die gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion? (2) Inwieweit beeinflussen der Kooperationsmodus (Netz vs. Face-to-face) und die Art des Strukturangebots (inhaltsspezifisch vs. inhaltsunspezifisch) den individuellen Lernerfolg und die Divergenz des individuellen Lernerfolgs zwischen den Lernpartnern? Im Mittel fanden sich weder Unterschiede im Hinblick auf die Merkmale der gemeinsamen Wissenskonstruktion noch hinsichtlich des individuellen Lernerfolgs zwischen Face-to-face- und Videokonferenz-Bedingungen. Es zeigte sich jedoch, dass sich die Divergenz des Lernerfolges in den verschiedenen Treatmentgruppen unterschied: Lernende, die in der Videokonferenz-Bedingung in derselben Dyade zusammengearbeitet hatten und dabei von dem inhaltsunspezifischen Strukturangebot unterstützt worden waren, waren sich im Lernerfolg weitaus ähnlicher als Lernende derselben Dyaden in den anderen experimentellen Gruppen. Die Befunde dieser explorativen Studie werden in ihrer Bedeutung für weitere Studien des Lernens mit Videokonferenzen und des kooperativen Lernens diskutiert.