Feedback effects on sequential ordering in humans

Under various feedback conditions, 38 college undergraduates were asked to rearrange abstract graphic characters on a computer screen, placing them in arbitrarily designated “correct” sequences. Two sets of seven horizontally arrayed stimuli were used. In Experiment 1, subjects in Group 1 learned to arrange the first set under Selection Feedback in which a “+” appeared above each character after it was selected in the correct order and to arrange the second set under Order Feedback in which a correct response produced a copy of the character in its correct ordinal position at the top of the screen. For Group 2 the order of these conditions was reversed. In Experiment 2, for subjects in Group 3, correct responses produced neither of these types of feedback. Subjects in Group 4 received Order Feedback only until the first set was correctly ordered once. Order Feedback was more effective than Selection Feedback during initial acquisition of the first set but not during maintenance; no differences were found for the second set. Only 2 of 9 subjects successfully put the characters in correct sequential order under the No Feedback condition. When, in Experiment 2, Order Feedback was eliminated after the first correctly arranged sequence, the steady-state criteria were met more slowly than in Experiment 1.     

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY HAZARD REDUCTION THROUGH PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK

A “feedback package” system, designed to prevent occupational accidents and to fit directly into the normal operations of an industrial organization, was analyzed. Eighteen hazardous conditions in six production departments were assessed during seven observation sessions over a 12-week period, plus four follow-up observations over 4 months. The “feedback package” was presented in multiple baseline fashion, across subjects (department supervisors). It consisted of presenting the supervisor with copies of observational data, accompanied by a note which congratulated good practices and suggested ways for improving safety conditions, along with occasional comments from a senior executive. The results indicated that during the feedback phase, hazard rates were lower and less variable than during the baseline phase. Baseline data were highly variable with peaks ranging from 20 to 55 hazards per department. Following intervention, hazard frequencies dropped by 60%, averaged across departments, with decreases ranging from 29% to 88%. During treatment, data stabilized, with the highest frequency reaching 33. A modified feedback system was implemented by the organization following termination of the study, validating the assumption that such a system would tend to maintain.     

TEACHING MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS TO TIME-MANAGE IN A VOCATIONAL SETTING

Three retarded adults who had minimal ability to tell time were trained to “time-manage.” Each was given a card with clock face representations on which the hands of the clock were drawn, representing each trainee's assigned lunch and break times. Instruction was given before work to perform each of the required behaviors when the “real” clock matched the clock faces. Praise was given following correct responses, and reprimands, instruction, and, in some instances, delay or omission of the scheduled activity followed incorrect responses. Pre-instruction and instructional feedback were then sequentially withdrawn. Results indicated that the package consisting of pre-instruction, instructional feedback, and picture cues was effective in producing independent time management responding. When the first two components were withdrawn, two trainees maintained high levels of correct responding. Correct responding decreased for one trainee when pre-instruction was withdrawn. Reintroduction and subsequent withdrawal of the components resulted in maintenance by this trainee. Little improvement in time-telling ability resulted.     

Reduction of police vehicle accidents through mechaniically aided supervision

Tachograph recorders were installed in 224 vehicles of a metropolitan police department to monitor vehicle operation in an attempt to reduce the rate of accidents. Police sergeants reviewed each tachograph chart and provided feedback to officers regarding their driving performance. Reliability checks and additional feedback procedures were implemented so that upper level supervisors monitored and controlled the performance of field sergeants. The tachograph intervention and components of the feedback system nearly eliminated personal injury accidents and sharply reduced accidents caused by officer negligence. A cost-benefit analysis revealed that the savings in vehicle repair and injury claims outweighed the equipment and operating costs.     

LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN SPEEDING AND ACCIDENTS IN CANADA AND ISRAEL: A BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

We assessed the effects of posted feedback and warning ticket programs on speeding and accidents in two cities. In Experiment 1, speeding feedback signs were effective even when 10 were used in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and reductions in speeding were associated with reductions in accidents. The effectiveness of the signs was correlated with the number of intersections and residences within 0.5 km beyond them, and the signs had no effect on untreated streets. In Experiment 2, posted feedback and a warning program reduced speeding and accidents on 14 streets in Haifa, Israel.     

BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS OF MOTION CONTROL FOR PEDIATRIC NEUROIMAGING

Magnetic resonance imaging is a promising technological advance used for research and diagnosis of disease. The procedure has no risks, except when uncooperative patients require sedation. Four normal children participated in simulated scans to study the effects of (a) antecedent changes in the imaging environment and (b) operant conditioning of movement inhibition. Changing the environment can decrease movement, but operant contingencies were necessary to decrease movement to a level that, in most cases, would allow the procedure to occur without sedation.     

AUDITORY SUCCESSIVE CONDITIONAL DISCRIMINATION AND AUDITORY STIMULUS EQUIVALENCE CLASSES

This paper describes an experimental demonstration of stimulus equivalence classes consisting entirely of auditory stimuli. Stimuli were digitized arbitrary syllables (e.g., “cug,” “vek”) presented via microcomputer. Training and testing were conducted with a two-choice auditory successive conditional discrimination procedure. On each trial, auditory samples and comparisons were presented successively. As each comparison was presented, a response location (a rectangle) appeared on the computer screen. After all stimuli for a trial were presented, subjects selected one of the response locations. Six subjects acquired the conditional discrimination baseline, 4 subjects demonstrated the formation of three-member auditory equivalence classes resulting from sample-S+ relations, and 1 subject demonstrated equivalence classes resulting from sample-S— relations. Four subjects received additional training and subsequently demonstrated expansion of the three-member classes to four members each.     

Opposite effects of feedback contingency on the process of risky decisions-making

The main aim of this study was to look into the effect of feedback contingency on decision making in complex risky situations, using a driving context. Participants had to decide braking or not in a set of risky traffic situations. After the response, a negative non-contingent or contingent feedback was used. The results highlight the importance of feedback contingency upon safer decision making in risky contexts, as they showed how a contingent feedback led to faster and safer responses than a control group without any feedback; whereas a non-contingent one gives rise to slower responses and, more importantly, an enhanced risk-taking behavior that could be the cause of undesirable effects on road safety. The feedback effect was even more evident in the appearance of an opposite response bias as a function of contingency and enhanced by learning. These results accord with the theoretical accounts based upon the feedback influence on the threshold level of decision making. Moreover, the effects of feedback may be explained by new proposals focusing on the importance of attentional factors as well as of the mental models people build to react in complex risky scenarios, as a product of feedback and learning. Finally, this research may increase our understanding of the role of feedback in the process of learning safer behavior in complex risky situations.     

充分条件句语义关系知觉对条件推理的影响

作者通过实验考察了大学生被试对五种充分条件句语义关系知觉对其条件推理的影响。两个实验的结果表明,被试对条件句中前后件之间语义关系的知觉理解影响和调节其相应的条件推理的成绩。实验1新发现,被试对充分条件句后件对前件必要性的知觉理解存在难易差异,对许可句和定义句的后件必要性容易知觉,对偶然句、义务句和因果句的后件必要性难以知觉。实验2新发现,被试对充分条件句后件对前件必要性的知觉理解的难易差异导致被试在否定后件式推理成绩上的差异,对许可句和定义句的否定后件式推理成绩显著高于对偶然句、义务句和因果句的否定后件式推理成绩,对充分条件句否定后件式推理成绩随对后件必要性知觉增加而增加。     

反馈对注意缺损多动障碍儿童错误监控能力的影响

研究选取了注意缺损多动障碍(ADHD)儿童39名,正常儿童40名,采用两项选择任务,考察在无反馈和有反馈的情况下,ADHD儿童的错误监控能力是否存在缺损。结果发现,(1)无论是否提供反馈,与正常儿童相比,ADHD儿童的错误察觉能力正常,但是错误更正能力落后,这可能是由于ADHD儿童动作调节控制能力落后导致的;(2)反馈提高了ADHD儿童和正常儿童的认知加工速度,但同时降低了他们的警醒水平,导致错误监控能力下降。