Speed versus accuracy instructions in the response time concealed information test

The response time concealed information test (RT-CIT) can reveal that a person recognizes a relevant item (probe) among other, irrelevant items, based on slower responding to the probe compared to the irrelevant items. Thereby, if this person is concealing knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be unveiled. In the present paper, we examined the impact of a speed versus accuracy instruction: Examinees (N = 235) were either presented with instructions emphasizing a focus on speed, with instructions emphasizing a focus on accuracy, or with no particular speed or accuracy instructions at all. We found that although participants responded to the probe and the irrelevants marginally faster when they had received instructions emphasizing speed, there was no significant difference between RTs of the different experimental groups and crucially no significant difference between the probe–irrelevant RT differences either. This means that such instructions are unlikely to benefit the RT-CIT, but it also suggests that related deliberate manipulation (focusing on speed on or accuracy) is unlikely to decrease the efficiency of the RT-CIT—contributing further evidence to the RT-CIT’s resistance to faking.

Exploring pronunciation teaching practice in emergency remote teaching: Lesson from Indonesian high school context

Regardless of its importance, pronunciation practice received a small portion in EFL teaching. This issue has attracted researchers to investigate how pronunciation practice is conducted in the EFL setting and what challenges are there. The results of the investigations have provided useful insights into what happens in the EFL classrooms. However, with the global pandemic outbreak that forced massive migration to emergency remote teaching (ERT), it remains unclear how pronunciation practice is carried out. This exploratory study attempts to shed light on the matter. It aims to portray the pronunciation practice during ERT and identify the challenges faced by the teachers. To limit the scope of the study, the researchers focused the investigation only on pronunciation accuracy. Data were collected through document analysis, non-participatory observation, questionnaire, and in-depth interview after gaining consent from two senior high schools English teachers in Indonesia. The collected data were then analyzed using the interactive model of analysis. This study reveals that during ERT, pronunciation practice received a small portion of attention, as earlier studies have found. The average time allocated is 10% of the total duration of learning. Most of the accuracy training was carried out with a similar pattern of activities, i.e., read aloud, listen-and-repeat, and teachers’ corrective feedback as the response of the student's errors. Presented in ERT, pronunciation accuracy training experienced several problems, and the most prominent is related to the internet connection. A poor internet connection can be disastrous for accuracy training as implementing synchronous learning or uploading and downloading audio/video requires a good and strong internet connection. Another problem is the lack of students’ engagement to study due to the difference in sensation and excitement with face-to-face learning. These imply that adequate preparation is needed in applying pronunciation accuracy instruction, apart from the material itself.

Speed Versus Accuracy Instructions in the Response Time Concealed Information Test

The Response Time Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) can reveal that a person recognizes a relevant item (probe) among other, irrelevant items, based on slower responding to the probe compared to the irrelevant items. Thereby, if this person is concealing knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be unveiled. In the present paper, we examined the impact of a speed versus accuracy instruction: Examinees (N = 235) were either presented with instructions emphasizing a focus on speed, with instructions emphasizing a focus on accuracy, or with no particular speed or accuracy instructions at all. We found that, although participants responded to the probe and the irrelevants marginally faster when they had received instructions emphasizing speed, there was no significant difference between RTs of the different experimental groups and crucially, no significant difference between the probe-irrelevant RT differences either. This means that such instructions are unlikely to benefit the RT-CIT, but it also suggests that related deliberate manipulation (focusing on speed on or accuracy) is unlikely to decrease the efficiency of the RT-CIT – contributing further evidence to the RT-CIT’s resistance to faking.

Speed or Accuracy Instructions During Skill Learning do not Affect the Acquired Knowledge

A crucial question in skill learning research is how instruction affects the performance or the underlying representations. Little is known about the effects of instructions on one critical aspect of skill learning, namely, picking-up statistical regularities. More specifically, the present study tests how prelearning speed or accuracy instructions affect the acquisition of non-adjacent second-order dependencies. We trained 2 groups of participants on an implicit probabilistic sequence learning task: one group focused on being fast and the other on being accurate. As expected, we detected a strong instruction effect: accuracy instruction resulted in a nearly errorless performance, and speed instruction caused short reaction times (RTs). Despite the differences in the average RTs and accuracy scores, we found a similar level of statistical learning performance in the training phase. After the training phase, we tested the 2 groups under the same instruction (focusing on both speed and accuracy), and they showed comparable performance, suggesting a similar level of underlying statistical representations. Our findings support that skill learning can result in robust representations, and they highlight that this form of knowledge may appear with almost errorless performance. Moreover, multiple sessions with different instructions enabled the separation of competence from performance.

Skill learning can be independent of speed and accuracy instructions

A crucial question in skill learning research is how instruction affects the performance or the underlying representations. However, a little is known about its effect on one critical aspect of skill leaning, namely, picking-up statistical regularities. More specifically, how pre-learning speed vs. accuracy instructions affect the acquisition of non-adjacent second-order dependencies. Here, we trained two groups of participants on an implicit probabilistic sequence learning task: one group focusing on being fast and the other on being accurate. As expected, we detected strong instruction effect: accuracy instruction resulted in a nearly errorless performance, while speed instruction caused short reaction times. Despite the differences in the average reaction times and accuracy scores, we found a similar level of statistical learning in the training phase. After the training phase, we tested the two groups under the same instruction (focusing on both speed and accuracy), and they showed comparable performance, suggesting a similar level of underlying statistical representations. Our findings support that skill learning can result in robust representations, and they highlight that this form of knowledge may appear with almost errorless performance.

Online and Face-to-Face Voice Instruction

Traditionally, post-secondary-level voice training has relied upon face-to-face interaction. Concerns about the viability of the online environment to facilitate the interaction needed to teach discipline-specific vocal skills has delayed adoption of online voice teaching in online music programs. This chapter discusses online and face-to-face voice instruction and presents evidence of a research study examining the two delivery methods. The study examined the difference in pitch accuracy improvement scores of 78 female collegiate voice majors at a large university in the mid-Atlantic United States in an effort to determine efficacy of online voice instruction and traditional face-to-face voice instruction according to pitch accuracy improvement. These results demonstrate that no significant difference was found between pitch accuracy improvement scores of 37 voice majors trained and tested online versus 41 voice majors tested face-to-face, suggesting that online voice training is as effective as traditional face-to-face voice training pertaining to pitch accuracy instruction.

Goal Priming and Self-Efficacy: Independent Contributions to Motor Performance

It is well-established that goal pursuit and performance are responsive to the goal characteristics (e.g., difficulty, specificity) and beliefs about self and the task (e.g., self-efficacy). Also, contextual factors may lead to nonconscious goal activation and pursuit. Nevertheless, much remains to be discoverd concerning the way conscious and nonconscious goals are related. In this study, the way in which self-efficacy and nonconscious goal priming may affect a goal-directed activity was explored. 67 right-handed participants with high or low self-efficacy on their motor skills performed a drawing task associated with an accuracy instruction. Before task performance, they were primed with accuracy-related words (goal-compatible condition), inaccuracy-related words (goal-incompatible condition), or received no priming manipulation (control condition). Analysis indicated that performance of the motor task was independently influenced by self-efficacy and goal priming.

Visual and Acoustic Processing in Making Same-Different Judgments

The effect of speed/accuracy instructions on preference for coding format was studied in a sequential same-different task. Visual coding was present in both the speed- and the accuracy-instruction conditions, but acoustic coding was present only in the speed condition, and only when that condition occurred before the accuracy condition. Results are discussed in relation to the minimal-processing principle and the temporal development view of coding preference.

Driving Experience and Task Demands in Simulator and Instrumented Car: A Validation Study

The validity of research results obtained using the fixed-base vehicle simulator of the Institute for Perception TNO was studied during straight-road driving. Absolute and relative validities were mainly evaluated in terms of system performance and driver behavior for inexperienced and experienced drivers, who had to perform lateral and longitudinal vehicle control both in the simulator and in an instrumented car on the road. Task demands for each control were varied with a free and forced accuracy instruction. Overall results showed good absolute and relative validity for longitudinal vehicle control; lateral vehicle control offered good relative validity. Lateral control performance lacked absolute validity due to the drivers' diminished perception of lateral translations (absence of kinesthetic feedback). Drivers were easily able to perceive yaw rotations in the simulator. Performance in the simulator was a more sensitive discriminator of driving experience than was performance in the instrumented car on the road.