The purpose of this study was to review existing human operator modeling techniques and evaluate their potential utility for performance measurement applications (e.g., to support the type of flight simulation research that entails accounting for the perception and utilization of various cues). The major human operator characteristics that ought…

By balancing the spacing effect against the effects of recency and frequency, this paper explains how practice may be scheduled to maximize learning and retention. In an experiment, an optimized condition using an algorithm determined with this method was compared with other conditions. The optimized condition showed significant benefits with…

In this study involving 20 four- and five-year-old children, the boys were more motivated by intermittent reinforcement from their fathers, while girls were more motivated by fathers' continuous reinforcement. (RL)

The purpose of this report is to document the development of an index of behavioral consistency, time to completion, for use as a predictor of trainability. Also, a brief discussion is devoted to the use of the time to completion measure in the management of a training program. (Author/RK)

Five-, eight-, and eleven-year-olds performed object assembly tasks alone, before a neutral observer, or before observers needing to learn about the task. Performances by children in this last condition were consistently superior to those in the other conditions. Neutral audiences had negative effects on eleven-year-olds. (RL)

Psychological researchers should deal with the concrete stimulus-response principles of learning on which behavior is based, and study behaviors that are representative of real life behaviors. The present research strategy has come from two faulty ideas: first, a concern with underlying, inferred mental processes, rather than with actual tasks or…

The effects of performance feedback of success and failure given by partners to 96 subjects of the same or opposite racial groups were measured in terms of subsequent performance on a paired-associate learning task and number of negative and positive adjectives checked for self and partner. Analysis of variance showed that the procedure yielded a…

This investigation examines WAIS performance in groups of 32 sociopaths and 33 normal controls defined by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory criteria. Sociopaths and normal controls show no differences in overall level of intellectual functioning. (Author)

Several research studies conducted during 1971, designed to better understand and predict behavior variables related to a child's development of academic and social skills, are described. Nowicki Strickland IE scale, including 40 Yes-No questions readable at fifth grade level and understandable to younger children, was used. Reliability and…

Summarizes two studies that investigated the relationship between the effects of room environment (neat versus messy) and high and low sensation seeker's perception, evaluation, and performance. Elapsed time estimation did not vary as a function of room condition and personality. Sex differences were not found to be critical. (BT)

This paper, on the potential contributions of performance science to education, defines performance and performance science, distinguishes between behavior and performance, presents tactics for presenting instruction, presents tactics for designing training, and outlines how to decide which accomplishments are valuable enough to include in a…

White society makes the white man's presence a source of anxiety to many blacks, generates role prescriptions for blacks' behavior, produces black hostility and white prejudice that create distance between blacks and whites. Further in-depth research is needed to identify precise effects of radical encounters and attitudes. (Author/JB)

This report provides a technical-level analysis, discussion, and summary of five experiments in applied behavior analysis. Experiment 1 examined the token economy as a basis for motivating inmate behavior; Experiment 2 examined the relationship between magnitude of token reinforcement and level of inmate performance; Experiment 3 introduced a…

The use of the supervisor as a source of information for subordinate decision makers was investigated using 72 eligibility workers in a county welfare agency. Results showed work group supportiveness to be highly associated with the frequency of use and the value attached by subordinates to the supervisor as an information source, but…

Reports two experiments designed to determine if (1) low-performing blacks would be evaluated lower than comparable whites while high-performing blacks would be rated higher than white counterparts, and (2) perceived social class, not race, would be the relevant variable in the operation of the stereotype confirmation - contrast process. Available…