Need for Cognition and Motivation Differentially Contribute to Student Performance

The need for cognition and motivation are related to performance in school and standardized tests. In this study, 422 students completed a battery of individual difference measures and reported their scores on the American College Testing (ACT) exam, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), high school grade point average (GPA), major GPA, and overall college GPA. Need for cognition was positively related to ACT and SAT scores, respectively, but not GPA. Achievement motivation was positively correlated with high school GPA, major GPA, overall college GPA, ACT score, and SAT score. The results showed that need for cognition may be related to standardized testing performance, whereas motivation, particularly achievement motivation, is related to performance in the classroom and in the major. Our results indicate that the need for cognition is distinct from the enjoyment of thinking and motivation toward challenge

Need For Cognition And Motivation Differentially Contribute To Student Performance

The need for cognition and motivation are related to performance in school and standardized tests. In this study, 422 students completed a battery of individual difference measures and reported their scores on the American College Testing (ACT) exam, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), high school grade point average (GPA), major GPA, and overall college GPA. Need for cognition was positively related to ACT and SAT scores, respectively, but not GPA. Achievement motivation was positively correlated with high school GPA, major GPA, overall college GPA, ACT score, and SAT score. The results showed that need for cognition may be related to standardized testing performance, whereas motivation, particularly achievement motivation, is related to performance in the classroom and in the major. Our results indicate that the need for cognition is distinct from the enjoyment of thinking and motivation toward challenge

Perceptions Of Supervisors And Performance: A Thematic Analysis

Observation is a common occurrence within the workplace, and can often manifest as either peer-to-peer monitoring or supervisor-to-peer monitoring. To date, there is a limited body of research that describes changes in performance due to either a positive or negative relationship between supervisors and employees. The present study reports qualitative data on supervisor-to-employee relationships and how the quality of the relationship can alter human performance. The results indicated that relationship with a supervisor was related to perceived performance under direct observation. Women were more likely to report a positive relationship with their supervisor, yet also indicated a negative emotion toward being monitored. These results are important in understanding how supervisor presence influences individual performance when completing job-specific tasks. The implications for future research are discussed

Establishing Measurement Equivalence Across Computer- And Paper-Based Tests Of Spatial Cognition

Objective: The purpose of the present research is to establish measurement equivalence and test differences in reliability between computerized and pencil-and-paper-based tests of spatial cognition. Background: Researchers have increasingly adopted computerized test formats, but few attempt to establish equivalence for computer-based and paper-based tests. The mixed results in the literature on the test mode effect, which occurs when performance differs as a function of test medium, highlight the need to test for, instead of assume, measurement equivalence. One domain that has been increasingly computerized and is thus in need of tests of measurement equivalence across test mode is spatial cognition. Method: In the present study, 244 undergraduate students completed two measures of spatial ability (i.e., spatial visualization and cross-sectioning) in either computer- or paper-and-pencil-based format. Results: Measurement equivalence was not supported across computer-based and paper-based formats for either spatial test. The results also indicated that test administration type affected the types of errors made on the spatial visualization task, which further highlights the conceptual differences between test mediums. Paper-based tests also demonstrated increased reliability when compared with computerized versions of the tests. Conclusion: The results of the measurement equivalence tests caution against treating computer- and paper-based versions of spatial measures as equivalent. We encourage subsequent work to demonstrate test mode equivalence prior to the utilization of spatial measures because current evidence suggests they may not reliably capture the same construct. Application: The assessment of test type differences may influence the medium in which spatial cognition tests are administered

Age, Sex, And Stem Education Influence Spatial Processing Performance

Previous research has demonstrated that individual differences can influence spatial processing performance. In the present study, the relationship between age, sex, and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coursework was examined in relation to two types of spatial abilities: mental rotation and cross-sectioning performance. Fifty-one younger adults and twelve older adults (both STEM and non-STEM majors) completed paper-and-pencil-based versions of each test. The results indicated that older adults holding a STEM degree outperformed STEM younger adults and all non-STEM majors on the cross-sectioning test and committed fewer errors related to perspective-taking on this test. Men outperformed women on both spatial ability measures, but this was not significant. Women also made more errors in perspective-taking on the cross-sectioning test, which lowered their cross-sectioning scores. The results indicate that specific spatial abilities may be retained in older age based on educational background

Exploring The Effects Of Extraversion On Social Facilitation And Vigilance Task Performance

Vigilance, or sustained attention, is the ability to maintain attention for extended periods of time. Recently, research on vigilance has focused on identifying individual differences and task design factors that may improve cognitive-based vigilance performance. One such factor is social facilitation, which leads to improved task performance when at least one individual is present. But, relatively little is known about the personality factors, such as extraversion or introversion, which may influence the effects of social presence, and in turn affect vigilance performance. Given this gap in the literature, the present research seeks to determine how personality, specifically extraversion, is related to vigilance performance in the presence of another individual. A total of 39 observers completed a 24-minute vigilance task either alone, in the mere presence of another person, or in the evaluative presence of another person (i.e., an individual monitoring their performance). The results indicated that extraversion was negatively correlated to the proportion of correct detections and sensitivity (A\u27)

Individual Differences In Achievement Motivation Are Related To Vigilance Performance

Vigilance, or sustained attention, tasks require observers to attend to information over a prolonged period of time. One individual difference that may be associated with sustained attention performance is achievement motivation, given recent findings in the literature that indicate a relationship between human motivation and attention. Fifty-nine participants were randomly assigned to either a cognitive or sensory vigilance task. The present study indicated that individuals high in achievement motivation detected more critical signals and made fewer false alarms in the cognitive vigilance task. Participants high in achievement motivation in the cognitive condition also demonstrated some of the highest distress and worry scores post-task. Implications for sustained attention tasks are discussed

Ceci N’Est Pas Un Walrus: Lexical Processing In Vigilance Performance

Vigilance, or the ability to sustain attention for extended periods of time, has traditionally been examined using a myriad of symbolic, cognitive, and sensory tasks. However, the current literature indicates a relative lack of empirical investigation on vigilance performance involving lexical processing. To address this gap in the literature, the present study examined the effect of stimulus meaning on vigilance performance (i.e., lure effects). A sample of 126 observers completed a 12-min lexical vigilance task in a research laboratory. Observers were randomly assigned to a standard task (targets and neutral events only) or a lure task (lures, targets, and neutral events presented), wherein lures were stimuli that were categorically similar to target stimuli. A novel analytical approach was utilized to examine the results; the lure groups were divided based on false alarm performance post hoc. Groups were further divided to demonstrate that the presence of lure stimuli significantly affects the decision-making criteria used to assess the performance of lexical vigilance tasks. We also discuss the effect of lure stimuli on measures related to signal detection theory (e.g., sensitivity and response bias)

Can vigilance tasks be administered online? A replication and discussion.

Recently, experimental studies of vigilance have been deployed using online data collection methods. This data collection strategy is not new to the psychological sciences, but it is relatively new to basic research assessing vigilance performance, as studies in this area of research tend to collect data in the laboratory or in the field. The present study partially replicated the results of a newly developed online vigilance task (Thomson, Besner, & Smilek, 2016). A sample of 130 participants completed the semantic vigilance task created by Thomson et al. (2016) in a research laboratory setting. The present results replicated Thomson et al. (2016) when nonparametric and corrected signal detection measures were used. We suggest that some vigilance tasks typically performed in the laboratory could be administered online. However, we encourage researchers to consider the following factors prior to studying vigilance performance online: (a) the type of vigilance task, (b) the length of the vigilance task, and (c) the signal detection indices most appropriate for their research. It is quite possible that some analyses may yield significant results, whereas other signal detection measures may not (i.e., parametric indices vs. nonparametric indices vs. corrected indices) and this point is discussed further in our article