The Role of Individual Differences in Determining Interaction Strategies and Performance on Computer Based Tasks

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 248-252
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Bohan ◽  
Rafael Marshall ◽  
Deborah A. Boehm-Davis ◽  
Astrid Schmidt-Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Reasoning Ability ◽  
Noun Pair ◽  
Field Dependency ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Reasoning ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Computer Tasks

In completing any given task, whether it be driving or a computer task, indviduals have a wide array of strategies available to them. Investigations of computer tasks have shown that individual differences of cognitive styles and abilites are related to the types of strategies individuals use to complete the task (Schmidt-Nielsen and Ackerman, 1993). Typically, those who have higher reasoning abilities use more sophisticated strategies for performing the task than those with a lower level of ability. Further, it has been demonstrated that these strategies tend to hold over a variety of tasks. For example, performance on a computer graphing task was shown to be correlated to cognitive reasoning ability. The current study extended the work of Schmidt-Nielsen and Ackerman and found that there were a wide variety of performance strategies and these strategies were correlated with reasoning ability, field dependency, and performance on the noun pair task.

Interest as the Missing Motivator in Self-Regulation

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Sansone ◽  
Dustin B. Thoman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Goal Striving ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. Typically, models of self-regulation include motivation in terms of goals. Motivation is proposed to fluctuate according to how much individuals value goals and expect to attain them. Missing from these models is the motivation that arises from the process of goal-pursuit. We suggest that an important aspect of self-regulation is monitoring and regulating our motivation, not just our progress toward goals. Although we can regulate motivation by enhancing the value or expectancy of attaining the outcome, we suggest that regulating the interest experience can be just as, if not more, powerful. We first present our model, which integrates self-regulation of interest within the goal-striving process. We then briefly review existing evidence, distinguishing between two broad classes of potential interest-enhancing strategies: intrapersonal and interpersonal. For each class of strategies we note what is known about developmental and individual differences in whether and how these kinds of strategies are used. We also discuss implications, including the potential trade-offs between regulating interest and performance, and how recognizing the role of the interest experience may shed new light on earlier research in domains such as close relationships, psychiatric disorders, and females' choice to drop out of math and science.

scholarly journals I think, therefore I forgive: The role of reasoning in forgiving accidental harms

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indrajeet Patil ◽  
Bastien Trémolière
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Reasoning Ability ◽  
Total N ◽  
Moral Condemnation

People experience a strong conflict while condemning someone who brought about an accidental harm, her innocent intention exonerating her, but the harmful outcome incriminating her. In the present research (total N = 4879), we explore how reasoning ability and cognitive style relate to how people choose to resolve this conflict and judge the accidental harms. A first set of studies (1a-c) showed that individual differences in cognitive style predicted severity of judgments in fictitious accidental harms scenarios, with more able (or willing) reasoners being less harsh in their judgments. A second set of studies (2a-c) relied on experimental manipulations of cognitive load (Dot matrix, Time pressure, Mortality Salience manipulations), aiming to tax available cognitive resources to participants while evaluating third-party harmful behaviors. These manipulations, however, failed to modulate people’s moral judgments for accidental harms. We discuss the importance of individual differences in reasoning ability in the assessment of accidental harms, and we also propose potential explanations for the failure of our experimental manipulations to affect severity of moral condemnation.

scholarly journals A world of differences: the role of individual differences in L2 vocabulary learning with clickers

2021 ◽  
pp. 261-266
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Sénécal ◽  
Walcir Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Enhanced Learning ◽  
Experimental Group

This study examined the acquisition of L2 English vocabulary with clickers, focusing on the role of individual differences. Following a pretest-posttest design, we measured perception and performance among 61 English learners who took part in a vocabulary acquisition treatment, in which they answered Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) via clickers (experimental group) or hand-raising (control group). Findings show that students have positive perceptions of clickers across all analytical measures adopted and that clickers promote vocabulary learning. However, the differences in learning gains between the two groups were not significant, indicating individual differences among learners. Four of the learners who exhibited ‘extreme’ (lowest/highest) perception and performance scores were selected for further analyses. The presence of individual differences in clicker-enhanced learning suggests the technology should be carefully implemented to accommodate learners’ individual differences.

Age Differences in Complex Decision Making and Judgment

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-233
Author(s):  
Klara Rydzewska ◽  
Maciej Koscielniak ◽  
Bettina von Helversen ◽  
Grzegorz Sedek
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision ◽  
And Performance

This chapter discusses age differences in complex decision making and judgment, particularly the role of motivational factors and individual differences. Literature on the influence of age-related changes in cognition and motivation on search and performance in complex decision making is reviewed. The role of financial incentives, need for cognition, and need for cognitive closure is discussed, including the age-related influence of motivational factors on the performance of sequential decision-making tasks. Additionally, the role of feedback as a factor producing superior performance of older adults in a decision-making task is introduced. Moreover, novel research findings regarding connections between intellectual helplessness and information and communication technologies in older adults are presented. Lastly, individual differences in numeracy and intellectual helplessness in mathematics as predictors of age-related differences in performance of multiattribute tasks are described.

Shiftwork and Performance

1979 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIMON FOLKARD ◽  
TIMOTHY H. MONK
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Descriptive Model ◽  
Shift Performance ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

The recent increase in the incidence of shiftwork has been accompanied by a change in the type of task typically performed by the shiftworker. The technological advances which have produced both these effects have meant that the shiftworker is more likely to be engaged in cognitive, mentally taxing tasks than the predominantly perceptual-motor ones typical of earlier times. Contemporary research on time of day effects in performance efficiency has indicated that these task changes may be crucially important in determining on-shift performance, and hence the choice of the individual and shift system that is most suitable. Evidence is reviewed on task demands, the effects of different shift systems, and the role of individual differences. A descriptive model is proposed in which on-shift performance is seen to be dependent on the type of task, type of shift system, and type of person, with the three factors interacting via the worker's various circadian rhythms.

Effects of Humor on Test Anxiety and Performance

1999 ◽  
Vol 84 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1203-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Perlini ◽  
Roger G. Nenonen ◽  
David L. Lind
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Sense Of Humor ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Moderating Role

The present study evaluated the moderating effects of humor in test items on the hypothesized relationship between test anxiety and performance. Subjects initially completed anxiety scales, as well as coping-humor and sense-of-humor scales. 34 women and 26 men received achievement tests under one of three test conditions: (1) nonhumorous, (2) low-humor (15% of test items), or (3) moderate-humor (30% of test items). These test versions were administered under both low, i.e., short quiz, and high, i.e., examination, outcome-value conditions. Humor frequency did not improve the test performance of highly test-anxious subjects under either outcome-value condition. Together with other previous disconfirmatory findings, the present results suggest that the hypothesized moderating role of item humor in the anxiety-performance relationship may be overstated. Ancillary analyses suggest that individual differences in the use of humor as a coping strategy significantly predict examination scores.

scholarly journals Individual differences in bilingual experience modulate executive control network and performance: behavioral and structural neuroimaging evidence

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Federico Gallo ◽  
Nikolay Novitskiy ◽  
Andriy Myachykov ◽  
Yury Shtyrov
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Executive Control Network ◽  
Functional Efficiency ◽  
Neural Substrate ◽  
And Performance

Abstract Dual/multiple language use has been shown to affect cognition and its neural substrate, although the replicability of such findings varies, partially due to neglecting the role of interindividual variability in bilingual experience. To address this, we operationalized the main bilingual experience factors as continuous variables, investigating their effects on executive control performance and neural substrate deploying a Flanker task and structural magnetic resonance imaging. First, higher L2 proficiency predicted better executive performance. Second, neuroimaging results indicated that bilingualism-related neuroplasticity may peak at a certain stage of bilingual experience and eventually revert, possibly following functional specialization. Importantly, experienced bilinguals optimized behavioral performance independently of volumetric variations, suggesting a degree of performance gain even with lower GMV. Hence, the effects of bilingualism on cognition may evolve with experience, with improvements in functional efficiency eventually replacing structural changes. We conclude that individual differences in bilingual experience modulate cognitive and neural consequences of bilingualism.

Impact of Individual Differences on Web Searching Performance

2008 ◽  
pp. 754-767
Author(s):  
Allison J. Morgan ◽  
Eileen M. Trauth
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Web Searching ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Online Web

This chapter will encourage the consideration of the role of individual differences in determining Web behavior and performance, which could inform and improve the development of search engines. Currently, users of search engines may experience differences in their level of success in searching for information. This difference could be realized through search success or search strategies. However, there is currently no definitive explanation regarding the characteristics that influence differences in search engine use and behavior. This chapter will serve asan introduction to and explore the phenomena of online Web searching and the potential role of individual differences in investigating this situation. An overview of the literature will be detailed as well as issues regarding how individual differences can be incorporated into this type of research. This chapter will support the notion that individual usage and performance with Web search engines is influenced by a collection of factors, more specifically, individual differences.

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