Using different methods of holding the double bass, college students performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Audio recordings of performance were rated. Muscle tension readings from the left arm, right arm, upper back, and lower back were taken, using electromyography. Results suggest nonsignificant differences in both performance quality and muscle…

This paper provides experimental demonstration of remindings during learning and examines their effect on performance, as well as effects of practice and difficulty. Three experiments examining the occurrence, effects, and conditions of remindings are presented, and the implications for theories of cognitive skill learning are discussed.…

Using a complex, computerized decision-making task, 56 university students participated in a six-week, repeated measures, goal-setting project, involving different payment systems. Results indicated that goal-contingent payment is superior to hourly payment in influencing performance, even though the perceived valence of payment and the actual…

This article reviews two questionnaires designed to measure people's perceptions of their own memories and identifies several research questions requiring further study. Results show that, in general, memory perceptions appear to be multidimensional and involve belief and affective components as well as knowledge components. (CT)

The purpose of this study was to investigate further the effect of differential item performance by males and females on tests which have different item arrangements. The study allows for a more accurate evaluation of whether differential sensitivity to reinforcement strategies is a factor in performance discrepancies for males and females.…

Investigates the relationship between five- and seven-year-old children's communicative performance and their level of understanding about message ambiguity and communication failure. Level of understanding about communication was assessed by asking the child to ascribe blame for communication failure following an ambiguous message and to judge…

Investigated the developmental aspects of the Koppitz scoring system with 652 children who took the Bender Motor Gestalt Test. Scores were fitted to various developmental curves by computer. Results indicated only 35 percent of the Bender test performance variance was accounted for by age. (JAC)

Examined the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) profiles of learning disabled children (N=46) from the Papago culture. Analysis suggested that learning disabled Papago children were not characterized by Spatial > Conceptual > Sequential pattern because WISC-R performance of these children was similar on Sequential and…

Two factors, language difficulty and option set convergence, were experimentally manipulated and their effects on item difficulty assessed. Option convergence was found to have a significant effect on item difficulty while the effect of language difficulty was not significant. (Author/BW)

Following an incentive (low, high) manipulation, college students received response-outcome contingency training. All students then observed a lecture. Postlecture results indicated that the high- compared to the low-expressive lecturer increased achievement and internal locus in contingent but not noncontingent students for low-incentive…

Examined the performance of 51 referred rural children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Revised) in relation to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised). Results indicated that while verbal comprehension may contribute most to successful performance on the PPVT-R, perceptual organization may play a significant though lesser…

Studied the effects of anxiety and depression on anagram performance displayed by college students (N=72). Results showed that depressed-anxious and anxious subjects tended toward reduced efficiency in anagram solution, rated themselves as having experienced signficantly more cognitive interference, and displayed a significantly more negative…

Deficiencies in job performance are not always due to a lack of knowledge, but frequently are the result of not knowing proper procedures and methods to get the job done. Recognizing the difference between deficiency in knowledge and deficiency in skills is the key to improving performance without training. (Editor)

One conclusion that can be drawn from this prototype study is that there is a need for precise definition of the abilities being measured. (Author/AM)