Richard A. Monty

Perceived Control A Generalized State of Motivation

Permitting subjects to choose materials to be learned on a task enhances performance on that task. These results support the idea that choice increases the learners perception of control, thereby enhancing motivation and performance. The purpose of the present experiments was to determine whether choosing responses to be learned on a paired-associate task would also benefit performance on a reaction-time task. Half of the subjects selected their responses to be learned on a paired-associate task while the remaining subjects were assigned responses. In one experiment, subjects then performed both the PA and RT tasks simultaneously, while in the second experiment the RT task was performed following the choice/force procedure. Providing the learner with the opportunity to choose produced a generalized increase in motivation, which resulted in significantly faster responding on the nonchosen RT task. Also discussed are the limitations of the effects of perceived control.

High-speed data processing and unobtrusive monitoring of eye movements

A system has been developed that monitors eye movements without imposing any unnatural constraints or mechanical attachments on the subject. The system also features high-speed on-line data processing.

Persistence of the effects of choice on paired-associate learning

Four experiments are reported in which half of the subjects were permitted to choose either the stimulus or response members of S-R pairs from groupings of alternative stimuli or responses following the procedures of Perlmuter, Monty, and Kimble. The other subjects were exposed to the materials and were forced to learn the material chosen by their yoked partners. Approximately 24 h later, both groups learned PA lists comprised of either the chosen or forced material. Choosing either the stimulus or the response facilitated performance irrespective of whether the other member of the S-R pair was present at the time of choosing. This finding ruled out an associative hookup interpretation in favor of a purely motivational hypothesis and demonstrated the temporal durability of the effect of choosing.

Contextual effects on learning and memory

Subjects were given a page of words containing either two or four words per line. A single word (target) on each line was to be learned. Results showed that directing attention to background words by allowing subjects to choose the target word enhanced the incidental learning of those background items and learning of the target items as well. Possible reasons for these observations were discussed.

Performance as a source of perceived control

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of choice and environmental control on the development of the perception of control. The results showed that the perception of control develops from an opportunity to make choices. More deliberate (slower) decisions resulted in an increase in the perception of control, and these perceptual effects generalized to a dice-throwing task over which no choice was possible. A model was examined which assumes that subjects monitor their own behavior with the result that more thoughtful decisions lead subjects to infer higher levels of control.

Choice for others and the perception of control

There has been an increasing emphasis in psychology on the perception of control over ones environment and its effect on behavior and performance. In the present experiment, subjects were allowed to choose material they would like to learn if given the opportunity, or allowed to choose material for others to learn. Their learning of a nonchosen (forced) set of materials was then examined and compared with that of subjects given no opportunity to choose at all. It was found that the choice-for-self condition led to better performance than either the choice-for-other condition or the nochoice (forced) condition. However, when an additional group of subjects was given the opportunity to choose for others and their personal involvement was augmented by emphasizing their willingness to choose, their performance was enhanced relative to subjects offered no choice. The results were discussed in terms of motivational benefits stemming from perceived control.

Effects of post-detection response complexity on subsequent monitoring behavior.

This paper examines the effect of the complexity of the post-detection response demands on subsequent monitoring performance at two rates of target presentation. Three conditions requiring differentially complex post-detection responses were compared with a baseline condition in which no post-detection demands were made (save the simple detection-indicating response). The results indicated that two of the three complex conditions were accompanied by significantly less decrement in performance than that found in the baseline condition. The third was not significantly different from the baseline condition. “Arousal theory” could account for the results on the basis that there exists an optimal level of cortical arousal stemming from sensory variation provided by a task. If this hypothetical level is not reached or exceeded, a decrement in performance is to be expected. No clear answer was provided regarding an interaction between effects attributable to signal rate with effects attributable to response complexity.

KEEPING TRACK OF SEQUENTIAL EVENTS: EFFECTS OF STIMULUS ON-TIME AND INTERSTIMULUS OFF-TIME

Ss were required to keep track of the number of occurrences of each of four different letters (categories) presented sequentially as a function of the total number of letters presented (trial length), the rate of presentation, and the two components which, when combined, constitute the rate, namely, stimulus on-time and the interstimulus interval or off-time. In general, performance varied inversely with trial length and rate of presentation. Of greater importance, however, was the complex interaction between the rate of presentation and the components of that rate. At the fastest rate, performance was relatively invariant as a function of these components; at intermediate rates the shortest on-time led to the best performance, while at the slowest rate the shortest on-time led to the poorest performance. The observed results are explained primarily in terms of the time available for rehearsal.

Hypnotizability and Speed of Visual Information Processing

Abstract Following the determination of the luminance threshold of each S, high and low hypnotizable Ss were tested for speed of information processing using a backward masking paradigm with a bias-free and ceiling-free psychophysical task. No significant relationship between hypnotizability as measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A (SHSS:A) of Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1959) and speed of information processing was observed. The order of administering SHSS:A, pre- or postthreshold task, was significantly related to luminance threshold. Results were compared to other studies wherein some evidence for a relationship between hypnotizability and speed of visual information processing had been offered.

Eye movement responses of heroin addicts and controls during word and object recognition

Abstract The eye movement responses of heroin addicts and matched controls were examined while they were engaged in word and object recognition tasks. Significant differences between the two groups were found which could be attributed to motivational or interest factors associated with the importance of the materials shown, and to basic differences in the physiological and central nervous system processes that regulate eye movements. Based on these findings together with earlier observations of differences in cutaneous sensitivity between addicts and controls, it was hypothesized that addiction may lead to an altered sensory capacity in the temporal domain which is concerned with gating and subsequent scanning of stimuli. The potential role of educational differences between the two groups was also discussed.