Call number: LD2668 .T4 1966 F786 / Master of Science

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

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The possible proactive inhibition effect of long-term past experiences upon the reproduction of discrete measurements was investigated. Ten subjects were assigned to each of the eight cells of a 2x2x2 factorial design. The two retention intervals were, 0 sec. and 30 sec; the two locations, 60° and 120°; the two movement lengths, 10° and 50°. Each subject received five standard-reproduction trials with an intertrial interval of 30 sec. The biasing effect of long-term past experiences measured by constant error, was not significant. Different target locations did not influence the intraindividual variability of a given movement length. Significant differences were obtained between movement lengths for both constant error, in that the shorter movement was overshot to a greater extent than the longer movement; and variable error, showing a greater variability for the longer movement. The significant increase in variable error over the retention intervals indicates that the memory trace weakened as time elapsed between the presentation of the standard and its reproduction. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The experiment was designed to divide the attention demands of a total motor response time into two components, the initiation of a response and the execution of a movement. The purpose was to determine the effects of movement complexity on the relative degree of attention required during these component processes. Six male right handed S's were tested in a situation involving two discrete reactions to two stimuli separated by a short time interval. The first stimulus was associated with the performance of a primary motor task that was varied in complexity and that was performed with the S's right hand. The second or probe stimulus was associated with a simple reaction time performed with the left hand. The probe stimulus was presented during the S's performance of the primary task and the reaction to this stimulus was used as an index of the attentional demands of the primary task. The results of the primary task indicate that the reaction time (RT) component of the response was not a function of movement complexity, although there was an apparent difference between the simplest response and responses of greater complexity. Movement complexity affected the movement time (MT) component of the response in that MT increased as complexity increased. The second or probe reaction time (PRT) was delayed when the probe occurred during the initiation of the response and during the execution of the response. When the probe was presented during the initiation of the response, the PRT was related directly to the RT, and when presented during the execution of the response, the PRT related directly to MT. PRT was also seen to vary throughout the range of movement with the longest PRTs occurring at the beginning and end of a movement terminated at a target. These results provide evidence for a model of human performance that suggests component processes of limited capacity in that the attention demands of initiating and executing a motor task tend to vary with task complexity and position of the responding limb in moving to a target. Further, the results indicated that in general RT and MT can be used to assess the attention demands of a particular motor response. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the investigation was to study the joint effects of response probability and task complexity on response latency in simple and choice reaction time tasks. Sixteen, volunteer, University of British Columbia Physical Education students performed all four experimental conditions, one simple reaction time task and three choice reaction time tasks. Response latencies for 800 trials were obtained from each subject. Analysis of variance for a repeated measures design was used to analyse the data, with Harter and Newman-Keuls post-hoc multiple comparisons performed to test for significant differences between conditions. The empirical findings were generally not in agreement with the predicted hypotheses. It was found that very fast response latencies were made to complex tasks combined with low probability of occurrence. Subjects were also better prepared to initiate a response to an easy task with a low response probability than an easy task with a high response probability. It appears that subjects adopted a defensive type of strategy and that low response probability has more effect than high response probability on response latencies of choice reaction time tasks of unequal complexity. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects that a specialized program in which emphasis was placed on fine and gross motor skill training had on the reading readiness of a group of grade one boys and girls deficient in perceptual-motor skills. Ten grade one students were selected from the Sir Richard McBride Elementary School in Vancouver. These pupils were chosen on the basis of their low scores recorded on the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test, Form R and the Winter Haven Perceptual Copy Forms Test. A group of ten pupils, which would act as a control group, was selected from Laura Secord Elementary School. The two groups were matched according to age, sex, the results of the reading readiness test, and the perceptual forms test. The experimental group received eighteen weeks of special motor training which was carried on for sixty minutes a day, five days a week. The control group received regular classroom instruction during this same sixty minute interval. At the completion of the training period all subjects were given the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test Form S and the Winter Haven Perceptual Copy Forms Test. Descriptive relationships were also drawn from data obtained from the parents’ interview, homeroom teacher's questionnaire, personal observation and an 8mm. film. The results of the reading readiness and perceptual form tests of the control and the experimental groups involved in the study were not statistically significant from each other and there was no real difference in reading readiness between the groups at the end of the study. The results of the interviews indicated that the majority of parents of the children in the experimental and control groups were either semi or unskilled workers, were not involved in community organizations or clubs, and had a relatively low educational level. They did not participate in physical or recreational activities themselves or with their child and did not encourage their children to participate in sports activities. Similarly these parents spent most of their time watching television, reading little, and regarded education solely as a means of obtaining a decent job. Although most of the children in the study had easy access to recreational facilities, little use was made of them due to the restrictions placed on the child by their parents. The majority of the children in the study, moreoever, were classed by their partents as being extremely hypo or hyper active, having an extremely short attention span, having few close friends, and experiencing sibling rivalry. They did not participate in any form of organized sport. The results of the homeroom teacher's questionnaire showed that the majority of students in the experimental group changed a great deal in relation to their attitude and interaction within the class. They improved in their ability to work and play within the classroom, with their teacher, and with their classmates. The students in the control group, however, were less willing to participate effectively within the classroom. That is, their attitude towards their teacher, school work, and school mates had changed little over the eighteen weeks of the study. Finally, it was noted that towards the end of the training session the subjects in the experimental group improved their fine and gross motor skills. Moreover, as these children met with unaccustomed success their attitude reflected a more aggressive and confident nature which appeared to carry over to their speech, mannerisms, dress, and reaction within the class. Their attitude and interaction to the class changed markedly, they were willing to participate in class activities, they were able to work for longer periods of time independently, and their new found confidence carried over into all phases of classroom activity. The subjects in the control group, however, had not improved their fine and gross motor skills. They were much less aggressive and confident than those subjects in the experimental group. They were unwilling to participate in class activities, or work independently for any length of time effectively. It was therefore concluded that the socio-economic status of the childs' parents, as well as, the parents' attitude towards education may have hindered the normal development of their child. Similarly, it was also concluded that the program of special motor training given to the experimental group may have accounted for the improvement in skills involving laterality, directionality, balance, coordination, and various perceptual skills. This improvement in turn, increased the aggressiveness and confidence of the slow learner interacting with his class, and his classroom activity. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The main purpose of this study was to determine if subjects would employ a defensive type strategy in a two-choice reaction time task using tasks of unequal response complexity. The methodology used to investigate this problem involved examining the joint effects of two levels of task complexity and eight levels of response probability on response latency in one simple and seven choice experimental conditions. The hypothesized effects of response probability on response latency for tasks of unequal complexity are summarized as follows: (1) below a probability level of .50, response latency was expected to decrease as response probability decreased, and (2) above a .50 probability level no significant increase or decrease in response latency relative to the equal probability level was expected. The experimental task was a discrete, two-choice reaction time task, in which subjects were required to depress several response keys in a predetermined order following the onset of one of two possible stimulus lights. Two tasks of varying complexity were used: (1) a simple task involving two response keys only, and" (2) a complex task requiring the depression of five response keys in a specific order. Probability levels of 1.0, .90, .75, .60, .50, .40, .25, .10 provided eight experimental conditions under which the two tasks were performed. Sixteen male students from the University of British Columbia served as subjects. The empirical results did not provide support for the predicted hypotheses. It was found that for tasks of unequal complexity, subjects did not adopt a defensive strategy by preparing for the more difficult or less probable response. Results for both tasks illustrated a classical probability effect, i.e., an increase in probability results in a decrease in response latency, contrary to the predicted results for tasks of unequal complexity. Also, the extreme probability levels of .90 and .10 had a marked effect on the response latency for both tasks with the simple task showing greater variability than the complex task due to these probability levels. Data from this experiment tended to support the premise that response probability is a decreasing function of task complexity, i.e., the more complex the task the less effect response probability has on the resulting response latency. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate