H. G. Schneider

FEEDBACK, TEST ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN A COLLEGE COURSE

The effects of three forms of test feedback and text anxiety on test performance were examined within the context of a self-paced, criterion-based course in educational psychology. 73 undergraduate students completed seven units of work and were evaluated by computer-administered unit tests. Students were randomly assigned to one of three test feedback forms: (1) item-by-item knowledge of responses, (2) answer-until-correct, and (3) delayed feedback. Students received their assigned feedback during the first two units, after which they were allowed to choose. Test anxiety was measured prior to testing on Sarasons Test Anxiety Scale and during testing on an item administered by the computer program. Students who reported high test anxiety on the Test Anxiety Scale experienced more anxiety during testing than students reporting low test anxiety. Anxiety during testing was not related to type of feedback, and the two variables were not related to course performance on the second unit. Data collected at the conclusion of the semester indicated that students who reported higher test anxiety required more attempts to pass unit tests than those reporting lower test anxiety. Given a choice, students preferred answer-until-correct feedback. This preference was not related to Test Anxiety Scale scores. Anxiety during testing was not related to being allowed to choose forms of feedback.

Parental management of inappropriate hyperactivity in a young retarded child

Abstract This paper describes a procedure used by parents to eliminate inappropriate hyperactive behavior at mealtime and after meals, using a multiple baseline procedure and contingent attention and time-out. Parents were taught to record inappropriate behaviors during mealtime and a half hour following, and were trained to give positive attention to appropriate behaviors while ignoring inappropriate behaviors; following mealtime a time-out procedure was employed when any one of several inappropriate behaviors occured. Inappropriate behaviors decreased sharply and remained at a low rate for approximately 5 weeks thereafter. These procedures demonstrate the use of training parents to utilize an effective home management program.

Habit-specific locus of control scales for drinking, smoking, and eating.

The internal consistencies of three habit-specific locus of control scales measuring drinking, smoking, and eating behavior were evaluated using coefficient alpha. The three scales, along with Rotters I-E scale, were administered to 202 undergraduate students. Estimates indicated the scales showed reasonably high internal consistency. Scores on the smoking and drinking scales had the lowest correlations with scores on Rotters generalized measure. Mean drinking scale scores were lower than those for smoking and eating, suggesting that people judge drinking to be under more personal control. The implications of habit-specific expectancies, particularly with regard to habit disorders, are discussed.

Recovering Alcoholics: Personality and Aftercare Factors

Individuals who had completed an inpatient treatment program for alcoholism within the last three years were sent a survey measuring personality variables, demographic characteristics, aftercare, aftercare involvement, and sobriety. Responses were obtained from 262 individuals who were currently maintaining sobriety. The proportion of time sober since discharge was related to race, low depression, having no previous hospitalizations, aftercare involvement, and marital stability. Continuously sober individuals differed from those who experienced a relapse on the measure of depression but not on measures of assertiveness or anger. Involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous was related to relapse only for recently discharged patients.

AGE DIFFERENCES IN ORGANIZATION AND RECALL: AN ANALYSIS OF REHEARSAL PROCESSES

Organizational processing and free recall in younger (mean age = 18.0 yr.) and older (mean age = 71.9 yr.) adults were examined in an overt rehearsal procedure monitoring spontaneous rehearsal strategies. Subjects learned one of two equivalent lists of 18 unrelated nouns. Although a significant interaction of age × list was obtained in total recall, significant age differences in recall from long-term memory were associated with quality of rehearsal. No significant effect of age emerged in subjective organization or frequency of item rehearsal. Younger adults, recalling more, tended to rehearse in an active fashion by rehearsing the currently displayed item with several others. Results provide direct evidence that the elderly may suffer from a decrement in organizational processing in long-term memory with unstructured material, possibly stemming more from acquisition than retrieval-related mechanisms.

Initial Relaxation Response: Contrasts between Clinical Patients and Normal Volunteers

The effectiveness of EMG biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, and self-relaxation were compared using a within-subjects design. Thirteen clinical subjects and 48 normal volunteers participated in 4 counterbalanced relaxation sessions using one of the techniques. Frontalis EMG and surface skin temperature were monitored throughout the sessions. For reducing EMG, biofeedback was more effective than the other three techniques. A significant interaction of treatment X subjects was found for changes in skin temperature. Clinical subjects had the greatest increase in skin temperature with EMG biofeedback and analog subjects responded best to self-relaxation. There were no significant differences in initial measures of EMG or skin temperature for the two samples.

Initial Relaxation Response: Personality and Treatment Factors

The relative effectiveness of three techniques used for relaxation training (EMG Biofeedback, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and Self-relaxation) was compared for 12 subjects who scored high or low on trait anxiety. Dependent variables included change scores based on EMG readings and pulse rate and posttreatment State-anxiety. Pulse rate was significantly affected by the type of treatment, i.e., Progressive Muscle Relaxation produced less decrease in pulse rate than the other two techniques. EMG and State anxiety measures did not differ as a function of treatment.

Feedback and Instructions in Verbal Discrimination Learning

120 volunteers learned a 12-pair, low-frequency verbal-discrimination list. The independent variables were feedback (positive only, negative only or continuous), task instructions (informed or uninformed regarding the nature of the task), and feedback instructions (informed or uninformed regarding the type of feedback). Using the total errors to criterion as the dependent variable, the results were analyzed using a 3 × 2 × 2 analysis of variance. The main effect of task feedback was significant. Subjects who received detailed instructions learned the list quicker than those who were given discovery instructions. The main effects of feedback and task instructions were not significant. None of the interactions were significant. The failure to find an interaction between feedback and instructions suggests that feedback contingencies produce differences in performance only for select populations.

TEST OF PARENTING SKILLS

An item pool was developed to assess basic parenting skills in the areas of attachment, emotional capacity, judgment, knowledge of child development, and safety. Initially, 200 items were generated and completed by a sample of 15 parents. Item scores correlated with scores on a social desirability scale or having low variance were edited or eliminated. A sample of 56 parents completed the revised scale, a social desirability scale, and the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory. The reliabilities of the final subscales of the Test of Parenting Skills were modest, ranging from .56 to .77. Scores on the subscales were also correlated with those subscales from the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory. With the exception of the Judgment scores being correlated with the use of harsh discipline, the significant correlations suggested concurrent validity. The individual subscales require additional refinement to achieve adequate internal consistency, but they have potential for measuring competency in core parenting skills.

Feedback and anxiety in verbal discrimination learning.

120 volunteers learned a 12-pair list of 4-letter words of low frequency. The independent variable was feedback (positive only, negative only, or positive and negative), and trait anxiety (high or low) and sex (male or female) were used as subject-variables. For errors per trial, the interaction of feedback, anxiety, and trials was significant. Individuals low in anxiety performed poorly when exposed to negative feedback while feedback contingencies were not related to performance differences for the highly anxious individuals. The results are discussed in terms of task-related state anxiety.