Adaptive feedback and review paradigm for computer-based drills.

Tested the effectiveness of a direct-instruction approach used with the corrective feedback paradigm (CFP) in a drill and practice program that included adaptive feedback techniques with discrimination training and increasing ratio review. 102 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 drill-treatment groups. Each group varied the type of review and corrective feedback: Group 1 (increasing ratio review and adaptive feedback with training); Group 2 (immediate review only and adaptive feedback with training); Group 3 (increasing ratio review and adaptive feedback); Group 4 (immediate review only and adaptive feedback); Group 5 (no review and adaptive feedback), and Group 6 (increasing ratio review and fixed feedback). The task consisted of learning 20 English–Japanese (transliterated) word pairs. Planned orthogonal comparisons demonstrated the statistical superiority on posttest performance of increasing ratio review and adaptive feedback with discrimination training, with no significant differences in time to mastery. Using CFP to teach generalizations is advocated. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive accident-avoidance training for beginning drivers.

Used programmed instruction/testing to teach safety techniques to 192 high school students in driver education. The independent variable was training feedback/testing, which had 4 levels: (a) no test and no feedback; (b) test with an IBM answer format, but no item feedback; (c) test with a punchboard answer format and immediate individual item feedback; and (d) double testing with punchboard answer format and training feedback. Pressey punchboards provided the programmed testing training. This device registers a response and indicates the correctness of the choice immediately. If initially wrong, an S continued working until that item was correct. Separate ANOVAs were done for (a) number of driving accidents, and (b) moving violations year by year in the 3 yrs following training. For the 1st yr only, the punchboard-twice drivers had one-fourth the accidents of the no-test control drivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral treatment of Raynaud's disease.

32 20–65 yr olds with idiopathic Raynaud's disease were randomly assigned to receive finger temperature feedback, finger temperature feedback under cold stress, frontalis EMG feedback, or autogenic training. Ss receiving finger temperature feedback demonstrated significant temperature increases, without relaxation, during training and after the removal of feedback. A significant but smaller response was retained 1 yr later, accompanied by a 66.8% reduction in reported attacks. The addition of training under cold stress to temperature feedback significantly improved retention of voluntary vasodilation at follow-up and produced a 92.5% reduction in symptom frequency. These procedures did not change overall levels of tonic peripheral blood flow, recorded over 24 hrs in the natural environment. Following treatment, significantly colder temperatures were needed to produce attacks in these Ss compared to those who had received EMG feedback or autogenic training. These latter techniques produced the expected signs of decreased arousal but were significantly less effective than temperature feedback in increasing finger temperature or decreasing symptom frequency. Cognitive stress management did not significantly affect any procedure. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategy training and attributional feedback with learning disabled students.

Investigated the effects of verbalization of subtraction with regrouping operations and effort-attributional feedback on the self-efficacy and skillful performance of 90 Ss (aged 11 yrs 2 mo to 16 yrs 2 mo) in Grades 6–8 who were classified as learning disabled in mathematics. Ss received training and solved problems over sessions. Ss in the 1st condition verbalized aloud while solving problems (continuous verbalization), those in the 2nd condition verbalized only during the 1st half of training (discontinued verbalization), and those in the 3rd condition did not verbalize (no verbalization). All Ss were periodically monitored and received effort feedback during the 1st half of training, effort feedback during the 2nd half of training, or no effort feedback. Findings show that continuous verbalization led to higher self-efficacy and skillful performance than did discontinued and no verbalization; providing effort feedback promoted these achievement behaviors more than not providing feedback did. Effort feedback during the 1st half of training enhanced effort attributions. The process by which verbalization promotes achievement outcomes is discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlled EEG alpha feedback training in normals and headache patients (author's transl)

Headache patients and healthy controls underwent alpha-EEG feedback training in 12 sessions. The present study does not support the literature which reports alpha increase by feedback training. The study included a patient group receiving feedback, a patient control group receiving pseudofeedback, and a volunteer group receiving feedback. Increase of alpha EEG was observed under feedback and pseudofeedback. However, there was always more alpha during baseline times than during training times. Alpha increase over time is suggested to be a habituation effect. Headache pain decreased with training (within the boundaries of a placebo effect), and there was no difference in headache decrease between feedback and pseudofeedback patients.     

A re-examination of alpha feedback training: Operant conditioning or perceptual differentiation?

Assessed the role of contingent feedback in an alpha feedback training procedure with 40 undergraduates. Group 1 received auditory feedback whenever alpha activity was present in their EEG record. Group 2 (controls) heard a tape recording of feedback which had been produced by an experimental S. Although the groups did not differ significantly in alpha production, both showed significant increases in alpha activity during training with eyes closed. Experimental Ss differed from controls in reports of perceived ability to control feedback. Results indicate that contingent feedback does not necessarily function as reinforcement for operant control of EEG activity, but rather may only serve as a cue which aids in the identification of internal events. (French summary) (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of an intensive training and feedback program on police and social workers' investigative interviews of children.

In the present study, we assessed the effectiveness of an extensive training and feedback program with investigative interviewers of child victims of alleged abuse and neglect in a large Canadian city. Twelve investigative interviewers participated in a joint training initiative that lasted 8 months and involved classroom components and extensive weekly verbal and written feedback. Interviewers were significantly more likely to use open-ended prompts and elicited more information from children with open-ended prompts following training. These differences were especially prominent following a subsequent “refresher” training session. No negative effects of training were observed. Clear evidence was found of the benefits of an intensive training and feedback program across a wide variety of investigative interviews with children. Although previous research has found benefits of training with interviewers of child sexual assault victims, the current study extends these findings to a wide range of allegations and maltreatment contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequential attributional feedback and children's achievement behaviors.

Determined how the sequence of ability and effort attributional feedback influenced task motivation, attributions for success, self-efficacy, and skillful performance in 80 elementary school Ss (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 10 yrs 5 mo) in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 40 Ss lacking subtraction skills received training and problem-solved over 4 sessions. During the problem solving, Group 1 (ability-ability) periodically received ability feedback; Group 2 (effort-effort) received little effort feedback; Group 3 (ability-effort) was given ability feedback during the 1st 2 sessions and effort feedback during the last 2; Group 4 (effort-ability) had this sequence reversed. In Exp II, 40 Ss (chosen with the same criteria as in Exp I) followed the same procedures except they were asked about their perceptions of success or failure following training. Results for both experiments show that Ss in Groups 1 and 3 developed higher ability attributions, self-efficacy, and subtraction skills compared with Ss in Groups 2 and 4. The sequence of attributional feedback did not differentially affect motivation, effort attributions, or perceptions of training successes. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of effort attributional feedback on children's perceived self-efficacy and achievement.

40 children (aged 7–10 yrs) who lacked subtraction skills received didactic training in subtraction operations with effort attributional feedback concerning past or future achievement or no feedback. Attributional feedback for past achievement led to more rapid progress in mastering subtraction operations, greater skill development, and higher percepts of self-efficacy. Results of a multiple regression analysis show that percepts of efficacy and training process each accounted for a significant increment in the explained portion of variability in posttest skill. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Randomized Trial of Methods to Help Clinicians Learn Motivational Interviewing.

The Evaluating Methods for Motivational Enhancement Education trial evaluated methods for learning motivational interviewing (MI). Licensed substance abuse professionals (N = 140) were randomized to 5 training conditions: (a) clinical workshop only; (b) workshop plus practice feedback; (c) workshop plus individual coaching sessions; (d) workshop, feedback, and coaching; or (e) a waiting list control group of self-guided training. Audiotaped practice samples were analyzed at baseline, posttraining, and 4, 8, and 12 months later. Relative to controls, the 4 trained groups showed larger gains in proficiency. Coaching and/or feedback also increased posttraining proficiency. After delayed training, the waiting list group showed modest gains in proficiency. Posttraining proficiency was generally well maintained throughout follow-up. Clinician self-reports of MI skillfulness were unrelated to proficiency levels in observed practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory self-efficacy and performance differences in young and old adults: The effect of mnemonic training.

We evaluated the hypothesis that mnemonic training would result in higher memory self-efficacy and better memory performance in young and old adults. Forty-eight young adults (17- to 19-year-olds) and 45 old adults (60- to 78-year-olds) received either training in the method of loci or no training and were given either performance feedback or no feedback on a serial-word recall task. Ss were tested at pre- and posttraining and were asked to rate their self-efficacy strength (SEST) and self-efficacy level (SEL) at each test session. Young adults recalled more than old adults and had higher self-efficacy scores. Training with feedback improved recall performance in both age groups but failed to increase SEST or SEL. When SEL scores were used to derive a measure of prediction inaccuracy, no age differences were observed. We conclude that efficacy expectations and attributions for memory performance may influence mnemonic training outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EMG biofeedback training versus systematic desensitization for test anxiety reduction.

Investigated EMG biofeedback training as a method to reduce test anxiety among 40 university students. A procedure combining EMG biofeedback training with systematic desensitization (SD) was compared to an automated SD program not using EMG feedback. The study also evaluated the effectiveness of EMG feedback relaxation training without SD. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (a) EMG biofeedback training with SD, (b) EMG biofeedback relaxation training, (c) automated SD, and (d) no-treatment control. At the end of the program, all participants were administered the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale, Sarason's Test Anxiety Scale, and an anagrams test, given under threat conditions. Results suggest that EMG biofeedback training is a useful technique for reducing test anxiety, but not necessarily more effective than SD. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of explanation and information feedback on the illusory correlation phenomenon.

Attempted to attenuate the illusory correlation phenomenon existent in one set of diagnostic stimulus materials, the Draw-A-Person test, through training on another set, the Rorschach. Three training methods were tried with 120 undergraduates: information feedback plus explanation, information feedback only, and explanation. None of the training conditions attenuated the illusory correlation effect when no relationship existed in the stimulus set. Significant attenuation occurred only when a negative correlation existed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of alpha biofeedback training in elevating mood.

Tested the hypothesis that alpha brain wave feedback training elevates mood, using 3 groups of 8 Ss each: Group I underwent training, Group 2 kept the alpha feedback signal off, and Group 3 named titles of tunes. Ss completed a perceived success questionnaire and the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist. The hypothesis was not supported by the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of various forms of relaxation training on physiological and self-report measures of relaxation.

Examined the relative effectiveness of 4 types of relaxation training using electromyograph (EMG) and self-report measures of relaxation as dependent measures. Ss were 50 undergraduates. The experimental groups were (a) classic Jacobson-Wolpe instructions, (b) EMG feedback, (c) EMG feedback plus Jacobson-Wolpe instructions, and (d) EMG feedback plus a monetary reward. These groups were compared with each other and a no-treatment control group over 3 baseline and 12 training periods. All groups reported increased relaxation, but EMG measures showed that in speed of learning and depth of relaxation the EMG groups were superior to the Jacobson-Wolpe group, and the control group did not master relaxation at all. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An intensive three day play therapy supervision/training model.

Describes a 3-day intensive supervision/training workshop model developed at the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas. The model provides 27 hrs of supervision and training and incorporates a small group supervision format in which each participant receives live supervision of individual and group play therapy, immediate feedback, observation of colleagues, self-critique of videos, application of directed feedback, and training in specific skills within the format of each of the 3 days. Reactions by participants (12 play therapists and 4 trained play therapy supervisors) to the experience are discussed and application of the model to a variety of settings is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention of learned helplessness in humans.

Prevention of learned helplessness (LH) through the use of thermal biofeedback training and varied explanations of performance was explored. One group of Ss received biofeedback training directly prior to exposure to an experimentally produced LH situation. A 2nd group also received biofeedback training but were given false/negative feedback about their performance. A 3rd group received only the LH procedure, and a 4th group served as a no-treatment control. Only in the biofeedback group receiving accurate feedback was there any prevention of the subsequent development of LH behavior. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of psychological and pharmacological treatment of pediatric migraine

A comparison was carried out of the efficacy of psychological and drug treatments for children with migraine. Forty-three children aged between 8 and 16 years (mean age: 11.3 years) who suffered from migraine received either progressive relaxation or cephalic vasomotor feedback, both with stress management training, or metoprolol, a beta-blocker. Psychological treatment was administered in ten sessions lasting six weeks and the drug treatment lasted ten weeks. Relaxation and stress management training reduced the headache index (frequency x intensity of headache episodes), more effectively than metoprolol with cephalic vasomotor feedback and stress management training in between. An overall improvement over time was found with regard to frequency and intensity of headache episodes and analgesics intake. When comparing pre- to post-treatment data, children treated with relaxation training improved significantly in headache frequency and intensity, whereas those treated with cephalic vasomotor feedback improved significantly in headache frequency and duration as well as mood. The clinical improvement was stable at an 8-months follow-up.     

Credibility and desirability of positive and negative structured feedback in groups.

Examined 3 different sequences of positive and negative feedback delivered in T groups to 46 undergraduates. The believability and desirability of the feedback, as rated by the Ss who received the feedback, were the main areas of interest. Positive feedback was more desirable and tended to be more believable than negative feedback. Overall, the sequence of negative feedback delivered first, followed by later positive feedback, was more effective than positive feedback followed by negative feedback. A 3rd group, which received a mixture of positive and negative feedback, rated the T group lowest as a learning experience. No significant differences in cohesion resulted from the different feedback conditions. Some implications of these findings for training laboratories and group psychotherapy are discussed. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change mechanisms in EMG biofeedback training: Cognitive changes underlying improvements in tension headache.

43 college students suffering from recurrent tension headache were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 EMG biofeedback training conditions. Although all Ss were led to believe they were learning to decrease frontal EMG activity, actual feedback was contingent on decreased EMG activity for half of the Ss and increased EMG activity for the other half. Within these 2 groups, Ss also viewed bogus video displays designed to convince them they were achieving large (high success) or small (moderate success) reductions in EMG activity. Results show that regardless of actual changes in EMG activity, Ss receiving high-success feedback had substantially greater improvement in headache activity (53%) than Ss receiving moderate success feedback (26%). Performance feedback was also related to score changes in locus of control and self-efficacy measures administered pre- and posttreatment. Changes in these 2 cognitive variables during biofeedback training were correlated with reductions in headache activity following treatment, while changes in EMG activity exhibited during training were uncorrelated with outcome. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)