Some participants may be better than others: Sustained attention and motivation are higher early in semester

Nicholls, Michael E. R.; Loveless, Kellie M.; Loetscher, Tobias; Churches, Owen

doi:10.1080/17470218.2014.925481

Cited by 32 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…In particular, the samples of Hupbach et al were undergraduate students who participated for course credit, whereas our samples were presumably older, more experienced participants (mean age 25.6 yr), who participated for monetary compensation. Such a motivational difference between participants, even of the same population, dependent on whether they participated for course credit or monetary compensation, was recently reported (Nicholls et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussion Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 61%

Intrusions in episodic memory: reconsolidation or interference?

2017

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It would be profoundly important if reconsolidation research in animals and other memory domains generalized to human episodic memory. A 3-d-list-discrimination procedure, based on free recall of objects, with a contextual reminder cue (the testing room), has been thought to demonstrate reconsolidation of human episodic memory (as noted in a previous study). Our goal was to replicate the central result, a high intrusion rate during recall of the target list, and evaluate the reconsolidation account relative to an alternative account, based on state-dependent learning and interference. First, replication was not straightforward (Experiment 1). Second, using a very unique, highly salient context (Experiment 2), the method produced a qualitative replication, but it was small in magnitude. A critical assumption of the reconsolidation account, that the target list is reactivated and destabilized during re-exposure to the study context, was not supported (Experiment 3). Although troubling for the reconsolidation account, the findings can be easily accommodated by an alternative account that does not assume additional neurobiological processes underlying the destabilization of consolidated memories, instead explaining intrusion rates simply in terms of well-established cognitive effects, such as item-to-context binding and interference during retrieval.

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Section: Discussion Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 61%

Intrusions in episodic memory: reconsolidation or interference?

2017

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“…This may have been further exacerbated by the fact that our testing for this experiment took place in the final few weeks of the semester, where students' attention may be more focused on preparation for exams than on experimental performance (cf. Nicholls, Loveless, Thomas, Loetscher, & Churches, 2015). To maintain transparency, we include information about analysis of the full data set in the results sections of each experiment, noting that the pattern of results remains the same, and that all but one significant finding remains when the full data set is used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Audiovisual integration capacity modulates as a function of illusory visual contours, visual display circumference, and sound type

Wilbiks

Pavilanis

Rioux

2020

Atten Percept Psychophys

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Research into the capacity of audiovisual integration has previously assessed whether capacity is strictly limited to a single item, or whether it can exceed one item under certain environmental conditions. More recently, investigations have turned to examining the effects of various stimulus factors on capacity. Across two experiments, we looked at a number of factors that were expected to play a modulatory role on capacity. Experiment 1 deployed a manipulation of illusory polygons, revealing an increase in audiovisual capacity, even in an absence of visual connections. This demonstrates that exceeding the capacity of 1 does not only represent a functional increase in the binding of a singular, complex visual object, but that it can also represent binding of multiple simpler objects. Findings also support the hypothesis that capacity modulates quantitatively, but not qualitatively, with respect to speed of presentation. Experiment 2 examined the effects of different sound types (sine tones or white noise) and of different spatial visual field sizes on the capacity of audiovisual integration. The results indicated that capacity is maximized when stimuli are presented in a smaller circle (7.5°) if alongside a sine tone, and when presented in a larger circle (18.5°) alongside a white noise. These results suggest that audiovisual integration capacity is dependent on the combination of sound type and visual spatial field size. The combination of these results reveal additional phenomenological features of the capacity of audiovisual integration, and provides impetus for further research into applications of the findings.

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“…For example, later participation in the semester is related to lower levels of conscientiousness (Witt, Donnellan, & Orlando, 2011) and higher levels of openness to experience (Aviv, Zelenski, Rallo, & Larsen, 2002; see Table 1). In addition, individuals who participate late in the semester show lower intrinsic motivation when compared to those who participated earlier (Hom, 1987;Nicholls, Loveless, …”

Section: Time Of Semester Effects: Legitimate Concern or Superstition?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Many Labs 3: Evaluating participant pool quality across the academic semester via replication

Ebersole

Atherton

Belanger

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

366

239

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The university participant pool is a key resource for behavioral research, and data quality is believed to vary over the course of the academic semester. This crowdsourced project examined time of semester variation in 10 known effects, 10 individual differences, and 3 data quality indicators over the course of the academic semester in 20 participant pools (N = 2,696) and with an online sample (N = 737). Weak time of semester effects were observed on data quality indicators, participant sex, and a few individual differences-conscientiousness, mood, and stress. However, there was little evidence for time of semester qualifying experimental or correlational effects. The generality of this evidence is unknown because only a subset of the tested effects demonstrated evidence for the original result in the whole sample. Mean characteristics of pool samples change slightly during the semester, but these data suggest that those changes are mostly irrelevant for detecting effects. Word count = 151Keywords: social psychology; cognitive psychology; replication; participant pool; individual differences; sampling effects; situational effects 4 Many Labs 3: Evaluating participant pool quality across the academic semester via replication University participant pools provide access to participants for a great deal of published behavioral research. The typical participant pool consists of undergraduates enrolled in introductory psychology courses that require students to complete some number of experiments over the course of the academic semester. Common variations might include using other courses to recruit participants or making study participation an option for extra credit rather than a pedagogical requirement. Research-intensive universities often have a highly organized participant pool with a participant management system for signing up for studies and assigning credit. Smaller or teaching-oriented institutions often have more informal participant pools that are organized ad hoc each semester or for an individual class.To avoid selection bias based on study content, most participant pools have procedures to avoid disclosing the content or purpose of individual studies during the sign-up process.However, students are usually free to choose the time during the semester that they sign up to complete the studies. This may introduce a selection bias in which data collection on different dates occurs with different kinds of participants, or in different situational circumstances (e.g., the carefree semester beginning versus the exam-stressed semester end).If participant characteristics differ across time during the academic semester, then the results of studies may be moderated by the time at which data collection occurs. Indeed, among behavioral researchers there are widespread intuitions, superstitions, and anecdotes about the "best" time to collect data in order to minimize error and maximize power. It is common, for example, to hear stories of an effect being obtained in the first part of the semester that then "d...

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Some participants may be better than others: Sustained attention and motivation are higher early in semester

Cited by 32 publications

References 25 publications

Intrusions in episodic memory: reconsolidation or interference?

Intrusions in episodic memory: reconsolidation or interference?

Audiovisual integration capacity modulates as a function of illusory visual contours, visual display circumference, and sound type

Many Labs 3: Evaluating participant pool quality across the academic semester via replication

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