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Feedback And Preferences Influence Cognitive Performance?

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Research suggests that when participants are fatigued, performance on cognitive tasks is enhanced or impaired by feedback depending on the inter-stimulus interval time. However, whether or not these factors interact to influence cognitive function has not been previously considered. Consequently, the present study evaluated the interactive effects of feedback and inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) on cognitive performance when participants are fatigued. Fifteen participants (8 females, 7 males, aged 18-27 yrs) completed four versions of a 5-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) every 2 hours on a handheld personal digital assistant (PalmVT) during 28 hours of sustained wakefulness. The four versions differed in the manipulation of provision of feedback (with or without), and the inter-stimulus interval, short (1-5s) or long (2-10s). …show more content…

Data was analysed using repeated measures ANOVA with three within-subject conditions; feedback, ISIs, and test session. Results for both measures, showed a significant interactive effect only between feedback and ISIs on cognitive performance. When the ISIs were long, feedback enhanced performance and when the ISI were short, feedback had no effect on performance. The present study indicated significant interactive effects of feedback and ISIs on cognitive performance in fatigued participants. The study highlights that if there is sufficient time to effectively process feedback, it has a positive effect on cognitive function due to increased activation as a result of motivation. However, if there is insufficient time to attend and prepare for feedback, it has no

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