Using Potential Performance Theory to Analyze Systematic and Random Factors in Enumeration Tasks

Hunt, Gayle; Rice, Stephen; Trafimow, David; Sandry, Joshua

doi:10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.1.0023

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…Consistency has shown to be a fundamental factor in task performance, time and time again (e.g. Hunt, Rice, Trafimow, & Sandry, 2013;Rice et al, 2012;Rice, Geels, Trafimow, & Hackett, 2011;Rice, Trafimow, & Hunt, 2010;Rice, Trafimow, Keller, Hunt, & Geels, 2011;Trafimow & Rice, 2008. We propose that a lack of consistency may be a potential cause of the commonly found decrement in performance after a long delay as compared to a short delay.…”

Section: Short-term Memorymentioning

confidence: 83%

Recognizing the Role of Consistency in a Delayed Memory Task

Schwark¹,

Rice²,

Busche

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual

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Past research on short-term memory decay has found that participants are more efficient at remembering information when the delay between stimuli presentation and recall is short as opposed to long. In the current study we used Potential Performance Theory (PPT) to identify the role that both random and systematic factors play in observed memory performance over a delay. We presented participants with a string of letters followed by either a 2-second or 16-second delay. Following the delay, participants were presented with a two alternative forced choice (2AFC) display where they were asked to determine whether the matching string was in the first or second display. The findings indicate that inconsistency is primarily responsible for the decrements in observed performance that can be seen over a time delay. Theoretical and practical applications are discussed.

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Section: Short-term Memorymentioning

confidence: 83%

Recognizing the Role of Consistency in a Delayed Memory Task

Schwark¹,

Rice²,

Busche

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual

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Consistency of Aviation Students When Taking the Private Pilot Knowledge Exam

Winter¹,

Rice²,

Reid³

et al. 2015

JAAER

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Inconsistency is the enemy of performance. Several researchers have conducted a number of studies examining consistency in a variety of laboratory tasks; however, no research to date has looked at test-taking consistency in a real-world aviation environment. In this study, participants took a portion of the Federal Aviation Administration Private Pilot Knowledge Exam for credit in their Aeronautics 1 (private pilot ground school) course at their respective university. This was done twice: once after seven weeks and another time after 12 weeks into the semester. In order to measure consistency, participants took the same exam twice (questions were randomized across blocks).Participants were then asked to rate how consistent they thought they were in taking the two exams. For Exam 1, the overall consistency between the two blocks was r = .89; while the correlation between the self-assessment and consistency was rs = .55. For Exam 2, the overall consistency remained high at r = .80, while the correlation between the self-assessment and consistency fell to rs = .11. In contrast to previous laboratory data, the overall consistency between blocks was high. The self-assessment of consistency was fairly inaccurate, particularly in the second exam. The research indicates that participants still struggle to accurately self-assess their consistency.

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The Case for Adding Randomness to the Nature-Nurture Debate

Rice

Trafimow

Mehta

2015

ISS

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People dramatically underestimate the role that randomness plays in almost every aspect of human behavior. We show that the typical belief is that a combination of genetic inheritance and environment accounts for all of human behavior. However, in contrast to this belie f, we review literature from the tradition of potential performance theory that shows that much human behavior, in a wide variety of domains, is due to randomness. The fact that randomness has been demonstrated to be an important contributor to human behavior, in many domains, suggests that psychologists should take it more seriously. Instead of attempting to account for human behavior solely with genetic and environmental influences, we argue that randomness should be included too. Thus, it is the interaction of genetics, environment, and randomness that produces human behavior, and behavioral researchers should recognize this and adjust their research programs accordingly.

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Using Potential Performance Theory to Analyze Systematic and Random Factors in Enumeration Tasks

Cited by 5 publications

References 21 publications

Recognizing the Role of Consistency in a Delayed Memory Task

Recognizing the Role of Consistency in a Delayed Memory Task

Consistency of Aviation Students When Taking the Private Pilot Knowledge Exam

The Case for Adding Randomness to the Nature-Nurture Debate

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