Effectiveness of software training using simulations: An exploratory study

This study was designed to explore the effectiveness in student performance and confidence of limited and full device simulators. The 30 employees from an information technology company who participated in this study were assigned to one of three groups. Each group received practice for learning a complex software procedure using traditional interactions, a limited device simulator, or a full device simulator. A training portal was created for each practice method. Measurements of performance included the number of times the participants repeated the assigned practice activity, the total time required to complete the procedure, a test score representing the number of mistakes made in the 20‐step procedure, and the average time between mouse clicks as they selected items from menus or clicked buttons. Preliminary results indicated that a limited device simulator appears to be as effective as a full device simulator. Recommendations for further research and limitations of the study are also addressed.     

Stage, Sequence, and Sequels: Changing Conceptions of Morality, Post-Kohlberg

The years since Kohlberg's death have marked a pivotal stage in moral psychology. The field is addressing a number of critical questions and pursuing new themes and approaches as it continues to (re)define itself in the course of its own development. This paper presents a brief overview of some of these emerging themes within the context of the traditional cognitive–developmental approach to moral socialization. In particular, it highlights changing conceptions of the moral person and raises questions about the implications of these changes for the role of reason in contemporary moral psychology.     

Acute effects of passive muscle stretching on sprint performance

The results of previous research have shown that passive muscle stretching can diminish the peak force output of subsequent maximal isometric, concentric and stretch-shortening contractions. The aim of this study was to establish whether the deleterious effects of passive stretching seen in laboratory settings would be manifest in a performance setting. Sixteen members (11 males, 5 females) of a Division I NCAA track athletics team performed electronically timed 20 m sprints with and without prior stretching of the legs. The experiment was done as part of each athlete's Monday work-out programme. Four different stretch protocols were used, with each protocol completed on a different day. Hence, the test period lasted 4 weeks. The four stretching protocols were no-stretch of either leg (NS), both legs stretched (BS), forward leg in the starting position stretched (FS) and rear leg in the starting position stretched (RS). Three stretching exercises (hamstring stretch, quadriceps stretch, calf stretch) were used for the BS, FS and RS protocols. Each stretching exercise was performed four times, and each time the stretch was maintained for 30 s. The BS, FS and RS protocols induced a significant (P < 0.05) increase (approximately 0.04 s) in the 20 m time. Thus, it appears that pre-event stretching might negatively impact the performance of high-power short-term exercise.     

Determinants of Complexity in Mexican-American and Anglo-American Mothers' Conceptions of Child Development

Complexity of parental reasoning about child development was studied in mothers who varied in ethnic background and biculturalism. Middle-class mothers from Mexican-American and Anglo-American backgrounds were compared on their level of concepts of development on a scale from categorical to perspectivistic reasoning. Categorical mothers interpreted child development as being caused by single constitutional or environmental factors. Perspectivistic mothers interpreted development as the result of the dynamic interplay between constitution and environment over time and accepted that the same developmental outcome could have multiple determinants. In a comparison among moderately acculturated Mexican-Americans, highly acculturated Mexican Americans, and Anglo Americans, the highly acculturated Mexican-American group scored as more perspectivistic than the other two groups, despite the fact that the Anglo-Americans were the most acculturated. When the 2 Mexican-American groups were subdivided into monocultural (Mexican or American) and bicultural subgroups and compared with the Anglo-American group, the bicultural subgroup of the highly acculturated Mexican-American mothers was the most perspectivistic. These results suggest a complex picture of diversity in Mexican-American mothers who retain values and beliefs from their own culture, as well as taking on values and beliefs of the American culture. Maternal intelligence and adherence to traditional cultural values were not found to correlate significantly with level of developmental reasoning.     

Combined online and in‐class pretesting improves exam performance in general psychology

This study examined the effect of distributed questioning on learning and retention in a college lecture course. A total of 48 question pairs were presented over four exams. The 16 question pairs associated with each of the three blocks of the course appeared on the block exams, and all 48 appeared on the final exam. The two questions in each pair were related to each other, so that knowing the answer to one question usually implied knowing the answer to the other. One question in each pair was included in an experimental condition, in which questions were presented online, in class, or both online and in class, before appearing in exams. These conditions were counter‐balanced across the sample. The control questions appeared only in exams. Providing a question online in advance of class, as well as in class, had a significant long‐term effect on the probability of knowing the answers to both experimental and control questions when they appeared in exams. These results demonstrate that coordinated online and in‐class instruction can significantly improve exam performance. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that distributed instruction creates more robust memory traces, rather than the hypothesis that it creates additional memory traces.