Effects of information feedback and self-administered consequences on self-monitoring study behavior.

Abstract

instructor, whilc 4 sections were taught by a prescriptive approach stressing preestablishcd learning prescriptions based upon diagnostic findings, use of reading laboratory materials and machines. and minimal conversation.Analyses of variance were used to compare the personalized and prescriptive groups on reading rate. vocabulary, comprehension, and reading interest before and after the course. Both groups showed significant gains on all four measures, and neither group showed greater gains than the other on any of the measures.Eighty-seven students from a psychology course who were concerned about their study habits were assigned to a no-contact control group, a no-treatment control group, a study skills advice group, or one of six study skills advice plus self-monitoring groups. The six combined-treatment groups experienced one of six forms of self-monitoring: high (informed) or low (uninformed) feedback, with no, low, or high levels of selfadministered consequences. The groups were compared on outcome measures (examination grades, an evaluation questionnaire, and the self-monitoring sheets) using chi square and t-tests.The combined-treatment groups improved their examination grades from pre-to posttreatment more than did the study skills advice group, which in turn did better than the control groups. The students who were uninformed about their study habits benefited more from self-monitoring than did the students who received detailed feedback about their study habits.--Department of Psychology, University of Missouri, Colw m bia.1976, 23 (July) pp. 316-321. 07 10-1 2 / SDA

Toward a multimodal theory of academic underachievement

“…Richards (1974Richards ( , 1975, for example, found evidence that self-monitoring can help college students to improve their academic performance when utilized as an adjunct to study skills training. This finding was replicated by Richards, McReynolds, Holt, and Sexton (1976). The authors found a significantly higher mean improvement in GPA over both study skills advice alone and attention placebo and no-contact control groups.…”

Awareness: An Understudied Cognitive Factor in Behavior Therapy

“…In fact, it could be said that each person knows something about a portion of his own behavior, but that the systematization produced by the self-monitoring induces a new, more accurate awareness of the actual situation. This hypothesis is strongly supported by the results reported by Richards, McReynolds, Holt, and Sexton (1976) which show that subjects who are less informed about their own study behavior benefit more from self-monitoring than those whose information is -already more accurate. Self-monitoring is also often part of a more general intervention strategy referred to as self-control.…”

Helping Others and Helping Yourself: An Evaluation of Two Training Modules in a College Course

“…However, Richards, McReynolds, Holt, and Sexton (1976) recently gave data on a successful behavioral program in w h~c h the increase in study time averaged 1.04 hours per day The .72 hours gain reported by the present students represents a useful lmprovement. although somewhat less than In the case of the Richards behavior modification program which had study as the sole target behavior The most successful program dealing with nervous habits would appear to be that of Azrin and Nunn (1973) who reported a 99% reduction for a variety of nervous habits by the third week of treatment.…”