How Useful is the Power Law of Practice for Recognizing Practice in Concentration Tests?

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Hagemeister
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Practice Effect ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Rate Decrease ◽  
Small Practice

Abstract. When concentration tests are completed repeatedly, reaction time and error rate decrease considerably, but the underlying ability does not improve. In order to overcome this validity problem this study aimed to test if the practice effect between tests and within tests can be useful in determining whether persons have already completed this test. The power law of practice postulates that practice effects are greater in unpracticed than in practiced persons. Two experiments were carried out in which the participants completed the same tests at the beginning and at the end of two test sessions set about 3 days apart. In both experiments, the logistic regression could indeed classify persons according to previous practice through the practice effect between the tests at the beginning and at the end of the session, and, less well but still significantly, through the practice effect within the first test of the session. Further analyses showed that the practice effects correlated more highly with the initial performance than was to be expected for mathematical reasons; typically persons with long reaction times have larger practice effects. Thus, small practice effects alone do not allow one to conclude that a person has worked on the test before.

scholarly journals Practice Effects Associated With Repeated Assessment of a Clinical Test of Reaction Time

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Del Rossi ◽  
Alfonso Malaguti ◽  
Samanta Del Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Sports Medicine ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Repeated Administration ◽  
Drop Test ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Clinical Test ◽  
Practice Session ◽  
Medicine Research ◽  
Change In Mean

Context: Researchers have confirmed that the ruler-drop test could be included as part of a multifaceted concussion-assessment battery and potentially as a way to track recovery from head injury. However, it is unclear if this clinical test of reaction time would be characterized by inconsistent performance because of practice effects. Objective: To determine if the ruler-drop test is susceptible to practice effects after serial administration. Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Setting: Sports medicine research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Forty-three persons (age = 21.8 ± 2.6 years). Intervention(s): Ten sessions were completed over 5 weeks. Participants completed 10 trials of the ruler-drop test during each session. Main Outcome Measure(s): The mean reaction times calculated for all participants from each test session were analyzed to determine if there was any meaningful change (ie, improvement) in reaction time over the course of the investigation. Results: Simple reaction time improved (ie, decreased) after repeated administration of the ruler-drop test, and the most pronounced improvement occurred between the first 2 test sessions. Between the first and second test sessions, reaction time decreased by almost 7 milliseconds, and there was an overall improvement of almost 13 milliseconds between the first and tenth sessions. Although the pairwise comparisons between the first and second and the first and third sessions were not significant, the change in mean reaction time between the first session and most of the other sessions was significant. We noted no differences when successive sessions were compared. Conclusions: To prevent practice-related improvements in reaction time, practitioners should allow at least 1 practice session before recording baseline results on the ruler-drop test.

scholarly journals Standard error in the Jacobson and Truax Reliable Change Index: The “classical approach” leads to poor estimates

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 899-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
NANCY R. TEMKIN
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Error ◽  
Classical Theory ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Standard Error ◽  
Practice Effect ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Reliable Change Index ◽  
Classical Approach ◽  
Reliable Change

Different authors have used different estimates of variability in the denominator of the Reliable Change Index (RCI). Maassen attempts to clarify some of the differences and the assumptions underlying them. In particular he compares the ‘classical’ approach using an estimate SEd supposedly based on measurement error alone with an estimate SDiff based on the variability of observed differences in a population that should have no true change. Maassen concludes that not only is SEd based on classical theory, but it properly estimates variability due to measurement error and practice effect while SDiff overestimates variability by accounting twice for the variability due to practice. Simulations show Maassen to be wrong on both accounts. With an error rate nominally set to 10%, RCI estimates using SDiff wrongly declare change in 10.4% and 9.4% of simulated cases without true change while estimates using SEd wrongly declare change in 17.5% and 12.3% of the simulated cases (p < .000000001 and p < .008, respectively). In the simulation that separates measurement error and practice effects, SEd estimates the variability of change due to measurement error to be .34, when the true variability due to measurement error was .014. Neuropsychologists should not use SEd in the denominator of the RCI. (JINS, 2004, 10, 899–901.)

From Simple to Complex or Vice Versa: Sequence Effects on the Detection of Embedded Figures

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 247-247
Author(s):  
I Ludwig
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Presentation Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Embedded Figures ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Mean Reaction Time

In a series of studies concerning part - whole perception we have investigated effects of perceptual learning, and of systematically varied presentation orders on the detection of embedded figures. In the present study the effects of increasing and decreasing complexity orders on detection performance are reported. Stimuli were 170 pairs of whole and part figures. Half of them were positive items, ie the searched part was contained in the (simultaneously presented) whole. The other half were negative items, ie the searched part was not contained in the whole. The difficulty of all figure pairs was determined from earlier data. On the basis of these difficulty parameters three presentation orders were created: (1) increasing difficulty (from simple to complex), (2) decreasing difficulty (from complex to simple), and (3) randomised order. Sixty subjects performed each of these tasks in three sessions separated by one week. Effects of practice and samples were balanced by permutating the order of the three tasks. The reaction times and error rates for all presentations were registered. The results showed marked differences between the three tasks: The lowest mean reaction time was obtained in the presentation order with increasing difficulty. Error rate, on the other hand, was lowest in the decreasing-difficulty presentation order. For the random-order presentation error rate and reaction time was in between the other orders. Furthermore, differences in benefit from practice were observed between the three orders of difficulty. Results are discussed with respect to the question of how efficient search strategies may be learned and whether one can learn to bend the rules of Gestalt organisation if required.

Modeling Within-Person Variance in Reaction Time Data of Older Adults

GeroPsych ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Rast ◽  
Daniel Zimprich
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Reaction Time Data ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Time Task ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Second Wave

In order to model within-person (WP) variance in a reaction time task, we applied a mixed location scale model using 335 participants from the second wave of the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging. The age of the respondents and the performance in another reaction time task were used to explain individual differences in the WP variance. To account for larger variances due to slower reaction times, we also used the average of the predicted individual reaction time (RT) as a predictor for the WP variability. Here, the WP variability was a function of the mean. At the same time, older participants were more variable and those with better performance in another RT task were more consistent in their responses.

The Level of Reaction Time Determines the ERP Correlates of Auditory Negative Priming

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Mayr ◽  
Michael Niedeggen ◽  
Axel Buchner ◽  
Guido Orgs
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Negative Priming ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Negative Priming Effect ◽  
Episodic Retrieval ◽  
Time Level ◽  
Fast Reactions ◽  
Priming Condition

Responding to a stimulus that had to be ignored previously is usually slowed-down (negative priming effect). This study investigates the reaction time and ERP effects of the negative priming phenomenon in the auditory domain. Thirty participants had to categorize sounds as musical instruments or animal voices. Reaction times were slowed-down in the negative priming condition relative to two control conditions. This effect was stronger for slow reactions (above intraindividual median) than for fast reactions (below intraindividual median). ERP analysis revealed a parietally located negativity of the negative priming condition compared to the control conditions between 550-730 ms poststimulus. This replicates the findings of Mayr, Niedeggen, Buchner, and Pietrowsky (2003) . The ERP correlate was more pronounced for slow trials (above intraindividual median) than for fast trials (below intraindividual median). The dependency of the negative priming effect size on the reaction time level found in the reaction time analysis as well as in the ERP analysis is consistent with both the inhibition as well as the episodic retrieval account of negative priming. A methodological artifact explanation of this effect-size dependency is discussed and discarded.

The Effect of Retest Practice on the Speed-Ability Relationship

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Rockstroh ◽  
Karl Schweizer
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Attention Switching ◽  
Letter Comparison ◽  
Sternberg Paradigm ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Elementary Cognitive Tasks

Effects of four retest-practice sessions separated by 2 h intervals on the relationship between general intelligence and four reaction time tasks (two memory tests: Sternberg's memory scanning, Posner's letter comparison; and two attention tests: continuous attention, attention switching) were examined in a sample of 83 male participants. Reaction times on all tasks were shortened significantly. The effects were most pronounced with respect to the Posner paradigm and smallest with respect to the Sternberg paradigm. The relationship to general intelligence changed after practice for two reaction time tasks. It increased to significance for continuous attention and decreased for the Posner paradigm. These results indicate that the relationship between psychometric intelligence and elementary cognitive tasks depends on the ability of skill acquisition. In the search for the cognitive roots of intelligence the concept of learning seems to be of importance.

Porous Gel Coatings Obtained by Phase Separation in ORMOSIL System

2000 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuki Nakanishi ◽  
Souichi Kumon ◽  
Kazuyuki Hirao ◽  
Hiroshi Jinnai
Keyword(s):  
Phase Separation ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Sol Gel ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Dip Coating ◽  
Coating Solution ◽  
Coating Method ◽  
Gel Phase ◽  
Dip Coating Method

ABSTRACTMacroporous silicate thick films were prepared by a sol-gel dip-coating method accompanied by the phase separation using methyl-trimethoxysilane (MTMS), nitric acid and dimethylformamide (DMF) as starting components. The morphology of the film varied to a large extent depending on the time elapsed after the hydrolysis until the dipping of the coating solution. On a glass substrate, the films prepared by early dipping had inhomogeneous submicrometer-sized pores on the surface of the film. At increased reaction times, relatively narrow sized isolated macropores were observed and their size gradually decreased with the increase of reaction time. On a polyester substrate, in contrast, micrometer-sized isolated spherical gel domains were homogeneously deposited by earlier dippings. With an increase of reaction time, the volume fraction of the gel phase increased, then the morphology of the coating transformed into co-continuous gel domains and macropores, and finally inverted into the continuous gel domains with isolated macropores. The overall morphological variation with the reaction time was explained in terms of the phase separation and the structure freezing by the forced gelation, both of which were induced by the evaporation of methanol during the dipping operation.

scholarly journals Manipulations of the Response-Stimulus Intervals as a Factor Inducing Controlled Amount of Reaction Time Intra-Individual Variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Paweł Krukow ◽  
Małgorzata Plechawska-Wójcik ◽  
Arkadiusz Podkowiński
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Simple Reaction Time ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Simple Reaction Time Task ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Simple Reaction ◽  
Response Stimulus

Aggrandized fluctuations in the series of reaction times (RTs) are a very sensitive marker of neurocognitive disorders present in neuropsychiatric populations, pathological ageing and in patients with acquired brain injury. Even though it was documented that processing inconsistency founds a background of higher-order cognitive functions disturbances, there is a vast heterogeneity regarding types of task used to compute RT-related variability, which impedes determining the relationship between elementary and more complex cognitive processes. Considering the above, our goal was to develop a relatively new assessment method based on a simple reaction time paradigm, conducive to eliciting a controlled range of intra-individual variability. It was hypothesized that performance variability might be induced by manipulation of response-stimulus interval’s length and regularity. In order to verify this hypothesis, a group of 107 healthy students was tested using a series of digitalized tasks and their results were analyzed using parametric and ex-Gaussian statistics of RTs distributional markers. In general, these analyses proved that intra-individual variability might be evoked by a given type of response-stimulus interval manipulation even when it is applied to the simple reaction time task. Collected outcomes were discussed with reference to neuroscientific concepts of attentional resources and functional neural networks.

scholarly journals Indicators of Targeted Physical Fitness in Judo and Jujutsu—Preliminary Results of Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4347
Author(s):  
Wojciech J. Cynarski ◽  
Jan Słopecki ◽  
Bartosz Dziadek ◽  
Peter Böschen ◽  
Paweł Piepiora
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Arithmetic Means ◽  
Simple Reaction ◽  
Martial Art ◽  
Student’S T ◽  
Pearson Correlations ◽  
Student’S T Test

(1) Study aim: This is a comparative study for judo and jujutsu practitioners. It has an intrinsic value. The aim of this study was to showcase a comparison of practitioners of judo and a similar martial art jujutsu with regard to manual abilities. The study applied the measurement of simple reaction time in response to a visual stimulus and handgrip measurement. (2) Materials and Methods: The group comprising N = 69 black belts from Poland and Germany (including 30 from judo and 39 from jujutsu) applied two trials: “grasping of Ditrich rod” and dynamometric handgrip measurement. The analysis of the results involved the calculations of arithmetic means, standard deviations, and Pearson correlations. Analysis of the differences (Mann–Whitney U test) and Student’s t-test were also applied to establish statistical differences. (3) Results: In the test involving handgrip measurement, the subjects from Poland (both those practicing judo and jujutsu) gained better results compared to their German counterparts. In the test involving grasping of Ditrich rod, a positive correlation was demonstrated in the group of German judokas between the age and reaction time of the subjects (rxy = 0.66, p < 0.05), as well as in the group of jujutsu subjects between body weight and the reaction time (rxy = 0.49, p < 0.05). A significant and strong correlation between handgrip and weight was also established for the group of German judokas (rxy = 0.75, p < 0.05). In Polish competitors, the correlations were only established between the age and handgrip measurements (rxy = 0.49, p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: Simple reaction times in response to visual stimulation were shorter in the subjects practicing the martial art jujutsu. However, the statement regarding the advantage of the judokas in terms of handgrip force was not confirmed by the results.

scholarly journals Lateralization of attention in adults with ADHD: Evidence of pseudoneglect

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartosz Helfer ◽  
Stefanos Maltezos ◽  
Elizabeth Liddle ◽  
Jonna Kuntsi ◽  
Philip Asherson
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Study Participant ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Incentive Condition ◽  
Reaction Time Variability ◽  
The Right

Abstract Background. We investigated whether adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show pseudoneglect—preferential allocation of attention to the left visual field (LVF) and a resulting slowing of mean reaction times (MRTs) in the right visual field (RVF), characteristic of neurotypical (NT) individuals —and whether lateralization of attention is modulated by presentation speed and incentives. Method. Fast Task, a four-choice reaction-time task where stimuli were presented in LVF or RVF, was used to investigate differences in MRT and reaction time variability (RTV) in adults with ADHD (n = 43) and NT adults (n = 46) between a slow/no-incentive and fast/incentive condition. In the lateralization analyses, pseudoneglect was assessed based on MRT, which was calculated separately for the LVF and RVF for each condition and each study participant. Results. Adults with ADHD had overall slower MRT and increased RTV relative to NT. MRT and RTV improved under the fast/incentive condition. Both groups showed RVF-slowing with no between-group or between-conditions differences in RVF-slowing. Conclusion. Adults with ADHD exhibited pseudoneglect, a NT pattern of lateralization of attention, which was not attenuated by presentation speed and incentives.

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