Effects of Contextual Interference, Task Difficulty, and Levels of Processing on Pursuit Tracking

1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Whitehurst ◽  
Patricia Del Rey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Transfer Trial ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Pursuit Tracking ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Sports Skills

Based on an activity questionnaire, 48 females without experience in open sports skills were selected to track a moving light beam through either a circle, square, or triangular target area on a pursuit rotor. Contextual interference was created by presenting 5 velocities in either a random or a blocked context during acquisition. Level of processing was manipulated by having half of all subjects classify acquisition velocities by a predetermined numerical code. Time-on-target (TOT) was measured after each acquisition, retention, and transfer trial. Subjects tracking the circle produced higher TOTs than those who tracked the square or triangle (which did not differ from one another) across all three phases of the experiment; blocked and random acquisition groups were not significantly different from one another in acquisition, retention, or transfer. Subjects who classified acquisition velocities and tracked the circle under the blocked acquisition context produced significantly higher retention scores than those who tracked the circle but did not classify acquisition velocities. Transfer was facilitated for subjects who tracked the triangle in a random transfer context and classified velocities during acquisition. Results were discussed as providing support for the manipulation of the level of cognitive processing during the initial stage of learning. In addition, manipulating task difficulty was discussed.

Skipping Breakfast Affects the Early Steps of Cognitive Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Andrés Antonio González-Garrido ◽  
Jacobo José Brofman-Epelbaum ◽  
Fabiola Reveca Gómez-Velázquez ◽  
Sebastián Agustín Balart-Sánchez ◽  
Julieta Ramos-Loyo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Electrical Brain Activity ◽  
Skipping Breakfast

Abstract. It has been generally accepted that skipping breakfast adversely affects cognition, mainly disturbing the attentional processes. However, the effects of short-term fasting upon brain functioning are still unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effect of skipping breakfast on cognitive processing by studying the electrical brain activity of young healthy individuals while performing several working memory tasks. Accordingly, the behavioral results and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) of 20 healthy university students (10 males) were obtained and compared through analysis of variances (ANOVAs), during the performance of three n-back working memory (WM) tasks in two morning sessions on both normal (after breakfast) and 12-hour fasting conditions. Significantly fewer correct responses were achieved during fasting, mainly affecting the higher WM load task. In addition, there were prolonged reaction times with increased task difficulty, regardless of breakfast intake. ERP showed a significant voltage decrement for N200 and P300 during fasting, while the amplitude of P200 notably increased. The results suggest skipping breakfast disturbs earlier cognitive processing steps, particularly attention allocation, early decoding in working memory, and stimulus evaluation, and this effect increases with task difficulty.

Reminiscence and Strategies of Performance in Rotary Pursuit Tracking

1989 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-226
Author(s):  
Ubaldo Cuesta
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Crossover Effect ◽  
Rotary Pursuit ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Pursuit Tracking

The maximum speed at which man detects and corrects errors is analyzed on the pursuit rotor. During the prerest performance, scores of about 220 msec. are found, for both extravertive and introvertive subjects. During the postrest performance a crossover effect appeared: extraverts had scores near 60 msec, while introverts did not surpass 100 msec. The results are discussed in the framework of Eysenck and Frith's (1977) theory of reminiscence.

scholarly journals Psycholinguistic features, design attributes, and respondent-reported cognition predict response time to patient-reported outcome measure items

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Cohen ◽  
Aaron J. Boulton ◽  
Alyssa M. Lanzi ◽  
Elyse Sutherland ◽  
Rebecca Hunting Pompon
Keyword(s):  
Response Time ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Attributes ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Symptom Frequency

Abstract Purpose Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) vary in their psycholinguistic complexity. This study examined whether response time to PROM items is related to psycholinguistic attributes of the item and/or the self-reported cognitive ability of the respondent. Methods Baseline data from Wave 2 of the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QoL) development study were reanalyzed. That sample contained 581 adults with neurological disorders and whose self-reported cognitive abilities were quantified by the Neuro-QoL v2.0 Cognitive Function Item Bank. 185 Neuro-QoL items were coded for several psycholinguistic variables and design attributes: number of words and syllables, mean imageability of words, mean word frequency, mean age of word acquisition, and response format (e.g., about symptom frequency or task difficulty). Data were analyzed with linear and generalized linear mixed models. Results Main effects models revealed that slower response times were associated with respondents with lower self-reported cognitive abilities and with PROM items that contained more syllables, less imageable (e.g., more abstract) words, and that asked about task difficulty rather than symptom frequency. Interaction effects were found between self-reported cognition and those same PROM attributes such that people with worse self-reported cognitive abilities were disproportionately slow when responding to items that were longer (more syllables), contained less imageable words, and asked about task difficulty. Conclusion Completing a PROM requires multiple cognitive skills (e.g., memory, executive functioning) and appraisal processes. Response time is a means of operationalizing the amount or difficulty of cognitive processing, and this report indicates several aspects of PROM design that relate to a measure’s cognitive burden. However, future research with better experimental control is needed.

Analyzing recursiveness patterns and retrospective protocols of professional translators in L1 and L2 translation tasks

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Linear Representations ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
L1 And L2

This study aims to investigate cognitive processing during translation by eight professional translators. In particular, it examines the extent to which the translation process is modulated by the direction of the translation: from English (L2) to Brazilian Portuguese (L1) and vice versa. The data collection was based on the triangulation of translation process data, combining different data elicitation tools to investigate the translation process (Alves 2003a; Jakobsen 1999). The analyses of the translation data drew on linear representations of the variable recursiveness. The recursive movements were calculated and classified, and the results from various tasks were compared. The quantitative data analyses revealed a higher number of recursive movements in L1 when compared to the L2 translation when the participants translated texts on the same topic. However, recursiveness was less in L1 translation when the same participants translated texts on different topics. These quantitative data were analyzed in parallel with the qualitative data provided by the retrospective protocols, permitting meta-reflection instances to be evaluated during decision-making processes (Alves and Gonçalves 2007). Results show that recursiveness and retrospective protocols can be used as indicators to measure translation task difficulty.

Forgetting and Its Effect on Contextual Interference

1986 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 519-523
Author(s):  
Patricia Del Rey ◽  
Emily Wughalter ◽  
Martna Carnes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Arrival Time ◽  
Light Stimulus ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Processing Steps

Contextual interference effects (Battig, 1979) on memory and transfer were investigated using coincidence anticipation tasks in which subjects had to predict the arrival time of a light stimulus. A cognitive-motor interpolated activity was performed by one group of subjects and this condition was compared to blocked and random practice conditions. This study investigated the hypothesis of Lee & Magill (1985) that forgetting the cognitive processing steps in performance of a task would benefit retention. Results are discussed and recommendations for future work suggested.

Level of Expertise, Interpolated Activity and Contextual Interference Effects on Memory and Transfer

1987 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Del Rey ◽  
Emily Wughalter ◽  
Martha Carnes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Arrival Time ◽  
Light Stimulus ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Stimulus Female ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Processing Steps ◽  
Variable Practice

Effects of contextual interference on memory and transfer were investigated using tasks of coincident anticipation in which subjects had to predict the arrival time of a light stimulus. Female sport-skill experts were compared to less experienced subjects. A cognitive-motor interpolated activity was performed by one group of subjects, and this condition was compared with blocked and variable practice conditions. This study investigated the 1985 hypothesis of Lee and Magill that forgetting the cognitive processing steps in the performance of a task would facilitate retention. Analysis indicated some support of Battig's predictions mote at retention than transfer but clearly did not support Lee and Magill's views on forgetting. Expertise was a significant factor in acquisition, retention, and transfer since sport experts responded with less error on almost all measures.

Effects of Contextual Interference on Learning Technical Sports Skills

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bortoli ◽  
Claudio Robazza ◽  
Valter Durigon ◽  
Carlo Carra
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Test ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Instructional Setting ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Practice Schedule ◽  
Practice Schedules ◽  
Practice Analysis ◽  
Sports Skills

The effects of contextual interference on learning skills of volleyball (volley, bump, serve) are influenced by the scheduling of actual practice sessions: the activities can be proposed in a repetitive practice schedule (blocked practice) by continuously repeating the same task (low interference) or in random practice schedules by performing more tasks or variations of one same activity (high interference). High contextual interference, even though causing immediate limited performance, leads to superior performance on retention and transfer tests. Four experimental groups (13 students each) were placed in conditions of random, blocked, serial, and serial with high interference practice for 8 meetings (2 tests and 6 practice). Analysis yielded significant differences among the groups on a transfer test (long transfer) for the serve, so results in this instructional setting are partially in line with those generally found in laboratory experiments.

Factors in Recovery from Performance Decrement: Activation, Inhibition and Warm-up

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1223-1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Catalano ◽  
Patricia M. Whalen
Keyword(s):  
Enhancement Effect ◽  
Performance Decrement ◽  
Main Condition ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Rotary Pursuit ◽  
Muscular Tension ◽  
Activation Level ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Pursuit Tracking ◽  
Direction Opposite

It has been recently found that rotary pursuit tracking performance can be enhanced as a result of inducing muscular tension by requiring individuals to squeeze a dynamometer as an interpolated activity between tracking trials. The present experiment was designed to determine whether such enhancement would result if the tension inducing activity utilized the same muscular movements as those involved in the rotary pursuit task. In the main condition, Ss were required to overcome 3 in.-lb. of resistance in order to turn a disk at 60 rpm. This interpolated activity significantly enhanced reminiscence beyond that following rest alone. No enhancement occurred in a control condition when there was no resistance to overcome. Another condition in which muscular tension was induced by turning the disk in a direction opposite to that of the pursuit rotor target resulted in an enhancement of reminiscence. A final tension inducing condition in which the disk was turned with the non-tracking hand produced a bilateral enhancement effect. It was generally found that those individuals with the greatest amount of performance decrement tended to show the greatest enhancement. The results of this study were viewed as additional evidence of the influence of changes in activation level upon efficiency of performance.

Gender Differences in Response to Ambient Color, Task Complexity and Presence of Evaluative Others

1982 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 590-594
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Pond
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Tracking Task ◽  
Tracking Performance ◽  
Pursuit Tracking ◽  
Versus Complex ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Female Subjects

Sixty-four male and thirty-two female subjects each performed a CRT pursuit tracking task in one of the eight conditions created by combinations of task difficulty (simple versus complex), evaluative audience presence versus absence, and wall color (red versus green). Females recorded significantly higher error scores, were less aroused and more sensitive to ambient color than were their male counterparts. Further, audience presence was found to enhance male and impair female tracking performance. Results suggest that differentials in subject motivation may have affected the present research.

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