Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied - Vol 17, Iss 4

Changes in team cognition after a retention interval: The benefits of mixing it up.

2011-08-22

This paper examines the retention of team cognition with changes in team membership. Hypotheses are developed from shared cognition and interactive team cognition theories. We report a study of the effects of Short (3–6 weeks) versus Long (10–13 weeks) retention intervals and change (Mixed) versus no change (Intact) in team membership during the interval on shared knowledge, team process, and team performance. The study context was a three-person Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) simulator. The long retention interval resulted in significantly lower team process scores and, except for the Short-Intact condition, all teams suffered a drop in performance after the break. However, those teams recovered prebreak levels of performance after one UAV mission. The counterintuitive result was that team mixing resulted in significant knowledge and process gains. An exploratory communication analysis indicated that Mixed team communication is longer in duration than Intact team communication, and Long-interval teams communicated more frequently than Short-interval teams. Unlike the Long-interval communication frequency effect, the Mixed team communication duration effect lasted throughout the experiment, suggesting greater interaction experience for Mixed teams. An exploratory mediation analysis indicated that the shared cognition Input-Process-Output framework was a good fit for the Intact team data, but not for the Mixed team data. We conclude that there are team-learning benefits of team mixing and that the interactive team cognition theory accounts better for those benefits than shared cognition theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Effects of response bias and judgment framing on operator use of an automated aid in a target detection task.

2011-06-27

Automated diagnostic aids prone to false alarms often produce poorer human performance in signal detection tasks than equally reliable miss-prone aids. However, it is not yet clear whether this is attributable to differences in the perceptual salience of the automated aids' misses and false alarms or is the result of inherent differences in operators' cognitive responses to different forms of automation error. The present experiments therefore examined the effects of automation false alarms and misses on human performance under conditions in which the different forms of error were matched in their perceptual characteristics. Young adult participants performed a simulated baggage x-ray screening task while assisted by an automated diagnostic aid. Judgments from the aid were rendered as text messages presented at the onset of each trial, and every trial was followed by a second text message providing response feedback. Thus, misses and false alarms from the aid were matched for their perceptual salience. Experiment 1 found that even under these conditions, false alarms from the aid produced poorer human performance and engendered lower automation use than misses from the aid. Experiment 2, however, found that the asymmetry between misses and false alarms was reduced when the aid's false alarms were framed as neutral messages rather than explicit misjudgments. Results suggest that automation false alarms and misses differ in their inherent cognitive salience and imply that changes in diagnosis framing may allow designers to encourage better use of imperfectly reliable automated aids. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Partitioning default effects: Why people choose not to choose.

2011-06-27

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 17(4) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (see record 2011-28924-001). The article contained an incorrect Figure 4. Additionally, the article was missing keywords. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Default options exert an influence in areas as varied as retirement program design, organ donation policy, and consumer choice. Past research has offered potential reasons why no-action defaults matter: (a) effort, (b) implied endorsement, and (c) reference dependence. The first two of these explanations have been experimentally demonstrated, but the latter has received far less attention. In three experiments we produce default effects and demonstrate that reference dependence can play a major role in their effectiveness. We find that the queries formulated by defaults can produce differences in constructed preferences and further that manipulating queries can also mitigate default effects. The experimental context involves two environmentally consequential alternatives: cheap, inefficient incandescent light bulbs, and expensive, efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Within this context we also measure the impact of each potential rationale for a default effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Reducing probabilistic weather forecasts to the worst-case scenario: Anchoring effects.

2011-10-31

Many weather forecast providers believe that forecast uncertainty in the form of the worst-case scenario would be useful for general public end users. We tested this suggestion in 4 studies using realistic weather-related decision tasks involving high winds and low temperatures. College undergraduates, given the statistical equivalent of the worst-case scenario (1 boundary of the 80% predictive interval), demonstrated biased understanding of future weather conditions compared with those given both bounds or no uncertainty information. We argue that this was due to an anchoring effect on numeric estimates, which were closer to the worst-case scenario than was warranted and increased linearly as the anchor became more extreme. In many situations tested here, anchoring in numeric estimates also extended to subsequent binary decisions, leading participants with the worst-case scenario to take action more often than did other participants. These results suggest that worst-case scenario forecasts can mislead the user. They appear to convince people that wind speeds will be higher and temperatures will be lower than what are indicated by the forecast. In addition, participants systematically “corrected” the forecast they were given. This effect was most prominent in the condition in which no uncertainty was provided, suggesting that people feel compelled to take uncertainty into account, even when it is not acknowledged by the forecast. Both the anchoring and correction biases were least evident when both bounds were provided, suggesting that balanced uncertainty leads to the best understanding of future weather conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Understanding driver anger and aggression: Attributional theory in the driving environment.

2011-10-10

Two studies tested the applicability of Weiner's (1995, 1996, 2001, 2006) attributional model of social conduct to roadway environments. This model highlights the role of inferences of responsibility after making causal judgments for social transgressions. Study 1 employed written scenarios where participants were asked to imagine themselves driving on a major highway. The degree of controllability and intentionality of the driving act was manipulated experimentally by altering the specific event-related details provided to the participants. Study 2 extended this research to life events by having participants complete online driving diaries every 2 days, identifying their most negative/upsetting encounter with another motorist. The most anger-provoking event was selected from among 4 diary entries and participants were asked to respond to a questionnaire similar to that used in Study 1. Path analyses in both studies generally supported predictions derived from Weiner's model; the association between perceived controllability, intentionality, and dispositional locus of causality of the negative driving event and subsequent anger was mediated by perceptions of responsibility. Additional results in Study 2 suggested that low perceived controllability, intentionality, and dispositional locus of causality were associated with reduced perceived responsibility, which, in turn, facilitated feelings of sympathy. Anger was associated with aggressive responses to the offending driver, whereas sympathy was associated with prosocial responses. Recommendations were offered for improved driver safety, including the development of attributional retraining programs to combat self-serving attributional biases, teaching novice drivers about both formal and informal roadway communication, and the promotion of forgiveness among drivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

The effects of group monitoring on fatigue-related einstellung during mathematical problem solving.

2011-08-15

Fatigue resulting from sleep deficit can lead to decreased performance in a variety of cognitive domains and can result in potentially serious accidents. The present study aimed to test whether fatigue leads to increased Einstellung (low levels of cognitive flexibility) in a series of mathematical problem-solving tasks. Many situations involving fatigue and problem solving also involve people working in teams. However, little research has considered the role of social processes in managing the effects of fatigue. Research into the group monitoring hypothesis suggests that membership in a team can offset the effects of impairing factors such as fatigue upon performance. Thus, the present study also aimed to test whether group membership exacerbates or ameliorates the negative effects of fatigue. During the course of a weekend military training exercise, participants (N = 171) attempted to solve a series of problems either alone or in a team, and while either reasonably alert (nonfatigued) or fatigued through sleep deficit. Fatigued problem solvers working alone showed increased Einstellung. In contrast, and in line with the group monitoring hypothesis, teams of fatigued problem solvers did not experience increased Einstellung. The present study also showed that teams with a group member who was relatively less fatigued experienced less Einstellung than other groups. These effects persisted even once participants were cued toward more direct strategies. These findings highlight the risk of Einstellung when fatigued and also the importance of team membership with reference to problem solving in an occupational context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term improvements from quizzing.

2011-11-14

Three experiments examined whether quizzing promotes learning and retention of material from a social studies course with sixth grade students from a suburban middle school. The material used in the experiments was the course material students were to learn and some of the dependent measures were the actual tests on which students received grades. In within-subject designs, students received three low-stakes multiple-choice quizzes in Experiments 1 and 2 and performance on quizzed items was compared to that on items that were presented twice (Experiment 2) or items that were not presented on the initial quizzes (Experiments 1 and 2). We found that students' performance on both chapter exams and semester exams improved following quizzing relative to either not being quizzed or relative to the twice-presented items. In Experiment 3, students were given one multiple-choice quiz in class and encouraged to quiz themselves outside of class using a Web-based system. The assessment in this experiment was a short answer test in which students had to produce answers, but we also used multiple-choice tests. Once again, we found that quizzing of material produced a positive effect on chapter and semester exams. These results show the robustness of retrieval practice via testing as a learning mechanism in a classroom setting using the subject matter of the course and (in most cases) the tests on which students received grades as the dependent measures. Our results add to a growing body of evidence that retrieval practice in the classroom can boost academic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Helping children correctly say “I don't know” to unanswerable questions.

2011-11-07

Adults ask children questions in a variety of contexts, for example, in the classroom, in the forensic context, or in experimental research. In such situations children will inevitably be asked some questions to which they do not know the answer, because they do not have the required information (“unanswerable” questions). When asked unanswerable questions, it is important that children indicate that they do not have the required information to provide an answer. These 2 studies investigated whether preinterview instructions (Experiment 1) or establishing a memory narrative (Experiment 2) helped children correctly indicate a lack of knowledge to unanswerable questions. In both studies, 6- and 8-year-olds participated in a classroom-based event about which they were subsequently interviewed. Some of the questions were answerable, and some were unanswerable. Results showed that preinterview instructions increased the number of younger children's appropriate “don't know” responses to unanswerable questions, without decreasing correct responses to answerable questions. This suggests that demand characteristics affect children's tendency correctly to say “I don't know.” The opportunity to provide a narrative account increased children's appropriate “don't know” responses to unanswerable yes/no questions, and increased the number of younger children's correct responses to answerable questions. This suggests that cognitive factors also contribute to children's tendency correctly to say “I don't know.” These results have implications for any context where adults need to obtain information from children through questioning, for example, a health practitioner asking about a medical condition, in classroom discourse, in the investigative interview, and in developmental psychology research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

Response latency as a predictor of the accuracy of children's reports.

2011-08-15

Researchers have explored various diagnostic cues to the accuracy of information provided by child eyewitnesses. Previous studies indicated that children's confidence in their reports predicts the relative accuracy of these reports, and that the confidence-accuracy relationship generally improves as children grow older. In this study, we examined the added contribution of response latency to the prediction of children's accuracy over and above that of confidence ratings. In Experiments 1 and 2, 2nd and 5th graders studied picture–event pairs and were tested using forced-choice, 2-alternative, or 5-alternative questions. In Experiment 3, children watched a slideshow depicting a story and were tested by 5-alternative questions about story details. The children indicated their confidence in each response, and response latency was measured. The results of all experiments suggested that children in both age groups relied on response latency as a cue for confidence, and this reliance contributed to the success with which they monitored the accuracy of their reports. When the test format was easy (Experiment 1), 2nd graders were as accurate as 5th graders in monitoring the accuracy of their answers, and the latency of their responses was no less predictive of accuracy. When the task was more difficult, age differences emerged. Nevertheless, in all experiments and for both age groups, response latency was found to have added value for predicting accuracy over and above that of confidence. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for predicting the accuracy of children's reports are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

The dark side of testing memory: Repeated retrieval can enhance eyewitness suggestibility.

2011-08-22

Eyewitnesses typically recount their experiences many times before trial. Such repeated retrieval can enhance memory retention of the witnessed event. However, recent studies (e.g., Chan, Thomas, & Bulevich, 2009) have found that initial retrieval can exacerbate eyewitness suggestibility to later misleading information—a finding termed retrieval-enhanced suggestibility (RES). Here we examined the influence of multiple retrieval attempts on eyewitness suggestibility to subsequent misinformation. In four experiments, we systematically varied the number of initial tests taken (between zero and six), the delay between initial testing and misinformation exposure (~30 min or 1 week), and whether initial testing was manipulated between- or within-subjects. University undergraduate students were used as participants. Overall, we found that eyewitness suggestibility increased as the number of initial tests increased, but this RES effect was qualified by the delay and by whether initial testing occurred in a within- or between-subjects manner. Specifically, the within-subjects RES effect was smaller than the between-subjects RES effect, possibly because of the influence of retrieval-induced forgetting/facilitation (Chan, 2009) when initial testing was manipulated within subjects. Moreover, consistent with the testing effect literature (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006), the benefits of repeated testing on later memory were stronger after a 1-week delay than after a 30-min delay, thus reducing the negative impact of RES in long-term situations. These findings suggest that conditions that are likely to occur in criminal investigations can either increase (repeated testing) or reduce (delay) the influence of RES, thus further demonstrating the complex relationship between eyewitness memory and repeated retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

"Partitioning default effects: Why people choose not to choose": Correction to Dinner et al. (2011).

2011-12-19

Reports an error in "Partitioning default effects: Why people choose not to choose" by Isaac Dinner, Eric J. Johnson, Daniel G. Goldstein and Kaiya Liu ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied , Advanced Online Publication, Jun 27, 2011, np). The article contained an incorrect Figure 4. Additionally, the article was missing keywords. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2011-13230-001.) Default options exert an influence in areas as varied as retirement program design, organ donation policy, and consumer choice. Past research has offered potential reasons why no-action defaults matter: (a) effort, (b) implied endorsement, and (c) reference dependence. The first two of these explanations have been experimentally demonstrated, but the latter has received far less attention. In three experiments we produce default effects and demonstrate that reference dependence can play a major role in their effectiveness. We find that the queries formulated by defaults can produce differences in constructed preferences and further that manipulating queries can also mitigate default effects. The experimental context involves two environmentally consequential alternatives: cheap, inefficient incandescent light bulbs, and expensive, efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Within this context we also measure the impact of each potential rationale for a default effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)(image)

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