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An investigation of the partial-assignment completion effect on students' assignment choice behavior
Meredith L Hawthorn-Embree1, Christopher H Skinner, John Parkhurst
1The University of Tennessee, USA. mhawtho2@utk.edu
Journal of School Psychology
|July 5, 2011
Summary
Students preferred to finish an interrupted math assignment over a new one, demonstrating the partial assignment completion effect. This finding has implications for educational psychology and task motivation.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- The Zeigarnik effect suggests that people remember unfinished tasks better than completed ones.
- Understanding task completion motivation is crucial for educational settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the partial assignment completion effect in a seventh-grade math context.
- To determine if students prefer to complete a previously interrupted task over a new, equivalent task.
Main Methods:
- Seventh-grade students worked on a math assignment for 5 minutes before interruption.
- Students were later offered a choice between completing their partially finished assignment or a new, equivalent one.
- Task preference was recorded based on student choice.
Main Results:
- A significantly higher number of students chose to complete their partially completed assignment.
- This indicates a strong tendency to return to and finish interrupted tasks.
Conclusions:
- The study provides empirical support for the partial assignment completion effect in an academic setting.
- Findings suggest implications for instructional design and student engagement strategies.
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