Gesture as a window on children's beginning understanding of false belief

Given that gestures may provide access to transitions in cognitive development, preschoolers' performance on standard tasks was compared with their performance on a new gesture false belief task. Experiment 1 confirmed that children (N=45, M age=54 months) responded consistently on two gesture tasks and that there is dramatic improvement on both the gesture false belief task and a standard task from ages 3 to 5. In 2 subsequent experiments focusing on children in transition with respect to understanding false beliefs (Ns=34 and 70, M age=48 months), there was a significant advantage of gesture over standard and novel verbal-response tasks. Iconic gesture may facilitate reasoning about opaque mental states in children who are rapidly developing concepts of mind.     

The effects of college grade adjustments on the predictive validity and utility of SAT scores

Regressing adjusted grade-point averages on freshman SAT scores and high school grade-point averages results in large increases in the incremental predictive validity of the SAT. Even so, the SAT still changes no more than a small proportion of admissions decisions and does not result in substantively important increases in freshman grades. The test does, however, change the composition of the freshman class by altering acceptances to some major areas of study and by limiting the access of women and blacks.     

Specifying a Human Performance Technology Knowledgebase

The mission of human performance technologists, to assure high levels of human performance in organizations, is well established, and usually accomplished through design and implementation of two major products: performance systems and instructional systems. The speed of change in the environments in which HPT is practiced, however, requires frequent analysis of what knowledge and skills are required of HP technologists in pursuit of this goal. This article works backward from results and the products that obtained them, to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that form the critical human performance technology knowledgebase. The author uses an example from our “universal” neighborhood to illustrate seven basic categories of variables influencing organizational performance, and provides examples and non examples of five essential principles of psychology that can help guide HPT practitioners' efforts to design and implement effective systems.     

False-performance feedback does not affect punching forces and pacing of elite boxers

Prior research indicates that providing participants with positive augmented feedback tends to enhance motor learning and performance, whereas the opposite occurs with negative feedback. However, the majority of studies were conducted with untrained participants performing unfamiliar motor tasks and so it remains unclear if elite athletes completing familiar tasks respond in a similar fashion. Thus, this study investigated the effects of three different versions of false-performance feedback on punching force (N), pacing (force over time) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) in 15 elite amateur male boxers. Athletes completed a simulated boxing bout consisting of three rounds with 84 maximal effort punches delivered to a punching integrator on four separate days. Day one was a familiarisation session in which no feedback was provided. In the following three days athletes randomly received false-positive, false-negative and false-neutral feedback on their punching performance between each round. No statistical or meaningful differences were observed in punching forces, pacing or RPE between conditions (P > 0.05; ≤ 2%). These null results could stem from the elite status of the athletes involved, the focus on performance rather than learning, or they may indicate that false feedback has a less potent effect on performance than previously thought.