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PubMed1992

The effect of instructions on age differences in practical problem solving.

In previous research middle-aged adults have typically been found to perform better on practical, everyday problems than either younger or older adults. However, it has been suggested that young adults may not expend as much effort as middle-aged adults and therefore may not perform as well as they are capable of performing. In order to test this hypothesis, the performance of young, middle-aged, and elderly adults was compared on 10 practical, everyday problems. Half of the subjects were given standard instructions and half were given instructions that encouraged them to perform as well as they possibly could. With the standard instructions, the young adults performed less well than either the middle-aged or the elderly adults. With the more explicit instructions, however, the young adults performed as well as the middle-aged adults and better than the elderly adults. The results of this study indicate that there may be a tendency on the part of young adults to give less than their optimal performance unless explicitly instructed to do their best.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The effects of independently validated strategies on visual hemifield asymmetry.

The study described here employed a sentence-picture verification task in order to examine the effects of different information-processing strategies on hemisphere performance of this task. The original task was slightly modified to allow brief presentation of the picture stimulus to either the left or right visual field. A simple strategies model of hemisphere function would predict an RVF advantage when using a linguistic strategy and an LVF advantage when using a pictorial strategy. Experiment 1 included no explicit instructions on which strategy to employ, thus allowing subjects to use their naturally preferred strategy whilst Expt 2 used explicit instructions to induce the appropriate strategies in two separate experimental blocks. Examination of the data for both experiments strongly supports the claim that the strategies were successfully induced, but in neither case was any clear-cut support for the strategies model of hemisphere function obtained.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Differential effects of load stiffness on matching pinch force, finger span, and effort.

Disparities in load stiffness were used to differentiate and characterize pinch-force, finger-span, and pinch-effort matching in two experiments. All subjects squeezed a spring-loaded manipulandum in each hand using three-finger pinch. Subjects in the first experiment were instructed explicitly to match one of the three continua. Subjects matching force or span were told to attend carefully to sensations from the hand or arm and to ignore differences in the effort required to make the sensations equal. They had to achieve and hold a particular target force with the reference hand and then match force or span with the opposite hand, usually against a spring with a different stiffness. These subjects were given as much time as necessary to make their matches and were told which hand was serving as the reference in each trial. Effort-matching subjects were told to ignore peripheral sensations and to match effort or motor commands. These subjects were not told which hand was the reference and were given only 1 s to make a match, so they made matches by rapidly squeezing both manipulanda simultaneously and, presumably, with the same voluntary motor command. The matching behaviors of the three groups were clearly distinguishable and were consistent with instructions. Results were similar whether different subjects were assigned different instructions or the same subjects performed all three match types. In a second experiment, naïve subjects were given purposely ambiguous instructions without reference to a specific continuum and had no time or accuracy constraints. Subjects produced the same three sensorimotor behaviors obtained with explicit instructions, showing that the different behaviors were not artifacts of strict protocols. Taken together, the results show that force, span, and effort are distinct sensorimotor continua that can be judged reliably.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Encoding features of complex and unfamiliar objects.

This study explored the acquisition of features from complex, unfamiliar objects. It tested the principle of top-down encoding, which predicts that the time needed to detect a difference between stimuli that differ in only one critical feature increases and recognition decreases as the level of that feature decreases. Results of Experiment 1 supported these hypotheses. Experiment 2 eliminated retroactive interference as an explanation for the results of Experiment 1. Experiment 3 showed that top-down encoding can be altered by explicit instructions to attend the relevant feature. It also showed that discriminability due to size was not a factor in Experiments 1-3. Experiment 4 showed that the top-down principle can account for how people encode features as a function of task demands. Overall, the results indicate that under normal attention conditions, the probability of encoding a feature decreases with its structural level. However, this tendency can be altered by explicit instructions or other factors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Beginning literacy: links among teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning.

Although the importance of phonological awareness has been discussed widely in the research literature, the concept is not well understood by many classroom teachers. In the study described here, we worked with groups of kindergarten and first-grade teachers (the experimental group) during a 2-week summer institute and throughout the school year. We shared with them research about learning disabilities and effective instruction, stressing the importance of explicit instruction in phonological and orthographic awareness. We followed the experimental group and a control group into their classrooms for a year, assessing teachers' classroom practices and their students' (n = 779) learning. The study yielded three major findings: We can deepen teachers' own knowledge of the role of phonological and orthographic information in literacy instruction; teachers can use that knowledge to change classroom practice; and changes in teacher knowledge and classroom practice can improve student learning.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Implicit versus explicit learning processes in a probabilistic, continuous fine-motor catching task.

We compared the influences of explicit instruction and uninstructed implicit learning of correlations among visual events, in a fine-motor task. The task required visual tracking of a small "ball" of light and "catching" it by means of joystick manipulation. A general pattern of improvement with practice for instructed and "noninstructed" conditions was found. Additionally, both instructed and noninstructed conditions evidenced use of the predictive relationships among stimulus events. The improvement in overall performance caused by explicit verbal instructions was less than the improvement seen with the implicit learning condition. Further, instructed and noninstructed conditions showed different patterns of joystick activity. These findings suggest a qualitatively different approach to visual information processing and task performance for the instructional conditions

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Manipulating procedural variables in a spatial precuing task.

Spatial precuing tasks have yielded a consistent pattern of differential reaction time benefits. Specifically, precuing of two fingers on the same hand has been shown to result in faster discrete finger responses than precuing of two fingers on different hands. This phenomenon is called the hand advantage. Within the context of the spatial precuing task originally developed by Miller (1982), a series of four experiments investigated the influences of two procedural variables on the hand advantage: preparation instruction and presentation mode of preparation intervals. Two preparation instruction conditions were compared: implicit versus explicit instructions regarding preparation possibilities. Also, two presentation modes of preparation intervals were studied: a random condition, in which the preparation intervals varied randomly, and a blocked condition, in which the preparation intervals were grouped together in blocks of trials. Results showed that these two procedural variables, when manipulated independently, did not affect the hand advantage. However, when combined, they significantly reduced the hand advantage by half. Moreover, both procedural variables were shown to produce a precuing benefit for two homologous fingers on different hands. We concluded that, in spatial precuing tasks, procedural variables play an important role by inducing preparation strategies, which affect the pattern of reaction time benefits.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed2005

The relative effectiveness of various instructional approaches in developing anticipation skill.

The relative effectiveness of explicit instruction, guided discovery, and discovery learning techniques in enhancing anticipation skill in young, intermediate-level tennis players was examined. Performance was assessed pre- and postintervention, during acquisition, and under transfer conditions designed to elicit anxiety through the use of laboratory and on-court measures. The 3 intervention groups improved from pre- to posttest compared with a control group (n = 8), highlighting the benefits of perceptual-cognitive training. Participants in the explicit (n = 8) and guided discovery (n = 10) groups improved their performance during acquisition at a faster rate than did the discovery learning (n = 7) group. However, the explicit group showed a significant decrement in performance when tested under anxiety provoking conditions compared with the guided discovery and discovery learning groups. Although training facilitated anticipation skill, irrespective of the type of instruction used in this experiment, guided discovery methods are recommended for expediency in learning and resilience under pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Finger interaction during multi-finger tasks involving finger addition and removal.

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in finger forces and their interactions in one-hand multi-finger force production tasks involving finger addition and removal. Eight male subjects were instructed to produce maximal (MVC) forces with explicitly instructed ('master') fingers. After reaching maximal force with a set of master fingers, the subjects added/removed one master finger while continuing to produce the MVC with the new group of master fingers. The non-instructed ('slave') fingers also produced forces (enslaving). Finger addition/removal led to changes in the forces of individual master fingers expected from earlier studies of maximal force production by different finger groups acting synchronously. A significant increase in the forces of remaining master fingers was observed after finger removal and a close-to-significant drop in the forces of previously recruited master fingers was observed after finger addition. These effects were larger when subjects started the task with a smaller number of explicitly involved fingers. The enslaving effects increased after finger addition while they did not change after finger removal. Forces produced by the same group of master fingers acting in different tasks showed no history-dependent effects. However, significant effects of history were seen in enslaving. These observations speak against hypotheses of more independent behaviour of effectors during their asynchronous involvement. They show that finger interaction may show effects of the history of finger involvement in a task.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Interventions aimed at improving reading success: an evidence-based approach.

There is a consensus among researchers about the critical elements for effective reading instruction. These elements are the integration of explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, reading for meaning, and opportunity to learn. These critical elements are present in classroom instruction that prevents reading difficulties as well as effective small-group and one-on-one interventions. Research on effective classroom instruction and reading interventions is described, and the case is argued that the most effective intervention is provided early--in kindergarten through 2nd grade--rather than after 3rd grade, and allows for sufficient intensity, duration, and supportiveness that no child is left behind. Policy implications for changes in (a) the way learning disabilities are identified and (b) the content of professional development of teachers are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1995

The deferred imitation task as a nonverbal measure of declarative memory.

We tested amnesic patients, patients with frontal lobe lesions, and control subjects with the deferred imitation task, a nonverbal test used to demonstrate memory abilities in human infants. On day 1, subjects were given sets of objects to obtain a baseline measure of their spontaneous performance of target actions. Then different event sequences were modeled with the object sets. On day 2, the objects were given to the subjects again, first without any instructions to imitate the sequences, and then with explicit instructions to imitate the actions exactly as they had been modeled. Control subjects and frontal lobe patients reproduced the events under both uninstructed and instructed conditions. In contrast, performance by the amnesic patients did not significantly differ from that of a second control group who had the same opportunities to handle the objects but were not shown the modeled actions. These findings suggest that deferred imitation is dependent on the brain structures essential for declarative memory that are damaged in amnesia, and they support the view that infants who imitate actions after long delays have an early capacity for long-term declarative memory.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Cleaning up systematic error in eye-tracking data by using required fixation locations.

In the course of running an eye-tracking experiment, one computer system or subsystem typically presents the stimuli to the participant and records manual responses, and another collects the eye movement data, with little interaction between the two during the course of the experiment. This article demonstrates how the two systems can interact with each other to facilitate a richer set of experimental designs and applications and to produce more accurate eye tracking data. In an eye-tracking study, a participant is periodically instructed to look at specific screen locations, or explicit required fixation locations (RFLs), in order to calibrate the eye tracker to the participant. The design of an experimental procedure will also often produce a number of implicit RFIs--screen locations that the participant must look at within a certain window of time or at a certain moment in order to successfully and correctly accomplish a task, but without explicit instructions to fixate those locations. In these windows of time or at these moments, the disparity between the fixations recorded by the eye tracker and the screen locations corresponding to implicit RFLs can be examined, and the results of the comparison can be used for a variety of purposes. This article shows how the disparity can be used to monitor the deterioration in the accuracy of the eye tracker calibration and to automatically invoke a recalibration procedure when necessary. This article also demonstrates how the disparity will vary across screen regions and participants and how each participant's unique error signature can be used to reduce the systematic error in the eye movement data collected for that participant.

Electronic Data Processing↗
PubMed2000

Cognitive bias in eating disorders: interpretation of ambiguous body-related information.

Three groups of women: eating disorder, body dysphoric controls, and nonsymptomatic controls, participated in an experiment testing hypotheses derived from cognitive-behavioral theories of eating disorders. In phase 1, participants encoded ambiguous information via instructions to imagine themselves in a variety of ambiguous situations that involved two types of information: body-related or health-related. On a subsequent memory task, participants in the eating disorder group and the body dysphoric control group recalled imagery of the body-related situations with a fatness interpretation and participants in the nonsymptomatic control group recalled imagery with a thinness interpretation. The three groups did not differ in their interpretation of the health-related situations. In phase 2, participants were instructed to imagine themselves in each body-related situation, but were explicitly instructed to imagine the scenes with either a positive or negative interpretation. Results indicated that the eating disorder and body dysphoric groups were able to change their interpretation of body-related information when instructed to do so.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A study of the deficiencies in the condom-use skills of gay men.

The use of condoms has been advocated as an important method of reducing the risk of AIDS for such people as gay men, prostitutes, IV drug users, adolescents, hemophiliacs, and others who may become infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Although AIDS risk-reduction programs have provided information on condoms, none has assessed baseline or followup skills in their use. Because most condom failures have been attributed to errors in use, promoters of condom use should determine whether they are used correctly among those persons targeted for education. A total of 219 gay men entering an AIDS risk-reduction program were asked to demonstrate the use of condoms on a model. All errors made during the demonstration were corrected, and participants were trained during the exercise in the proper use of condoms. More than 80 percent required correction in such things as opening the package, determining the outside of the condom, unrolling the condom to the base of the penis, and expressing air from the space at the tip of the penis. Although proper use of condoms may seem obvious, this small study demonstrates that it must be taught. Since instructions found in condom packaging frequently are not easily understood by potential users, explicit instructions for condom use are needed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2002

Discontinuation of use and switching of antidepressants: influence of patient-physician communication.

CONTEXT: Although current depression treatment guidelines recommend continuing antidepressant therapy for at least 4 to 9 months, many patients discontinue treatment prematurely, within 3 months. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between patient-physician communication and the continuation of treatment with antidepressants and to explore the demographics, adverse effects, therapeutic response, and frequency of follow-up visits. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: A total of 401 telephone interviews of depressed patients being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy between December 15, 1999, and May 31, 2000, were conducted and 137 prescribing physicians completed written surveys from Northern California Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization outpatient clinics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient-physician communication about therapy duration and about adverse effects; therapy discontinuation or medication switching within 3 months after start of SSRI therapy. RESULTS: Ninety-nine physicians (72%) reported that they usually ask patients to continue using antidepressants for at least 6 months, but 137 patients (34%) reported that their physicians asked them to continue using antidepressants for this duration and 228 (56%) reported receiving no instructions. Patients who said they were told to take their medication for less than 6 months were 3 times more likely to discontinue therapy (odds ratio [OR], 3.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-8.07) compared with patients who said they were told to continue therapy longer. Patients who discussed adverse effects with their physicians were less likely to discontinue therapy than patients who did not discuss them (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25-0.95). Patients who reported discussing adverse effects with their physicians were more likely to switch medications (OR, 5.60; 95% CI, 2.31-13.60). Fewer than 3 follow-up visits for depression, adverse effects, and lack of therapeutic response to medication were also associated with patients' discontinuing therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Discrepancies exist between instructions that physicians report they communicate to patients and what patients remember being told. Explicit instructions about expected duration of therapy and discussions about medication adverse effects throughout treatment may reduce discontinuation of SSRI use. Our finding that patients with 3 or more follow-up visits were more likely to continue using the initially prescribed antidepressant medication suggests that frequent patient-physician contact may increase the probability that patients will continue therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The relationship between initial errorless learning conditions and subsequent performance.

This experiment explores a suggestion by [Maxwell, J.P., Masters, R.S.W., Kerr, E., Weedon, E. (2001). The implicit benefit of learning without errors. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A 54, 1049-1068] that an initial bout of implicit motor learning confers beneficial performance characteristics, such as robustness under secondary task loading, despite subsequent explicit learning. Participants acquired a complex motor skill (golf putting) over 400 trials. The environment was constrained early in learning to minimize performance error. It was predicted that in the absence of explicit instruction, reducing error would prevent hypothesis testing strategies and the concomitant accrual of declarative (explicit) knowledge, thereby reducing dependence on working memory resources. The effect of an additional cognitive task on putting performance was used to assess reliance on working memory. Putting performance of participants in the Implicit-Explicit condition was unaffected by the additional cognitive load, whereas the performance of Explicit participants deteriorated. The relationship between error correction and episodic verbal reports suggested that the explicit group were involved in more hypothesis testing behaviours than the Implicit-Explicit group early in learning. It was concluded that a constrained, uninstructed, environment early in learning, results in procedurally based motor output unencumbered by disadvantages associated with working memory control.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of goal setting and self-instruction on learning a reading comprehension strategy: a study of students with learning disabilities.

This study examined the contributions of instruction in goal setting and self-instruction, separately and combined, on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of a reading comprehension strategy by fourth-through sixth-grade students with learning disabilities. A previously validated strategy involving the use of story structure to analyze and remember story content was taught to 47 students with learning disabilities using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) model. Comparisons were made among students with learning disabilities in four conditions (strategy instruction, strategy instruction plus goal setting, strategy instruction plus self-instruction, and strategy instruction plus goal setting and self-instruction). Result indicated that instruction in the reading strategy produced meaningful, lasting, and generalizable effects on students' story comprehension skills. Furthermore, the comprehension performance of the students with learning disabilities after strategy instruction was indistinguishable from that of a social comparison group of normally achieving students. Explicit instruction in goal setting and self-instruction, however, did not augment the comprehension performance of students with learning disabilities.

Analysis of Variance↗