By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MDMarch 12, 2010 -- Simply seeing the letter “A” before an exam might help you improve your grade, but spotting an “F” could make you perform poorly.
This finding comes from a study in which researchers set out to test their hypothesis that just seeing the letters A or F could influence performance on a test.
Keith Ciani, PhD, and Ken Sheldon, PhD, of the University of Missouri, say the study shows that the way people approach tasks can be manipulated through “non-conscious motivation.”
A for Achievement
The researchers signed up 131 students for three separate experiments.
In the first, 23 undergraduates were asked to complete a number of analogies in a classroom setting. All the tests were the same, but half were labeled “Test Bank ID: A” and the other half “Test Bank ID: F”.
Before starting the tests, the students were asked to write either the letter A or F in the top right-hand corner of each sheet.
Then each person’s analogy tests were scored and compared between the groups. The researchers say a significant difference was noticed, with the A group doing much better than those who’d written an F on their papers. Those in the A group scored an average of 11.08 correct out of 12, compared to only 9.42 for those jotting down Fs.
http://children.webmd.com/news/20100312/seeing-a-raises-test-scores
this article shows that positive rienforcemant and thinking can improve preformance. in reality this is not a new finding. many studys show that those with more confidence preform better in all aspects.
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I think this experiment was very interesting. I never thought about it if you write a A before a test you will do well. I have test anxiety and I wonder if this will help if there is any logic to it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the more confidence someone has the better they will do but I never knew that simply seeing the letter A before taking a test could help your performance, this was an interesting article.
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