Modification of cognitive tempo on a haptic-visual matching task

The present experiment investigated the modification of response latencies and error rates on a haptic-visual matching test via modeling procedures (N = 60 slow and fast responding primary school boys and girls). Twenty-four slow and 24 fast responders were exposed to one of four videotaped modeling conditions depicting refelctive or impulsive strategies that were either successful or unsuccessful. Immediately following exposure to the taped model, Ss were posttested, and changes in their latencies and error rates on the haptic-vusial matching test were assessed. The remaining six slow responders and six fact responders viewed no model but participated in the same posttest procedure, thus serving as no treatment controls. The principal results indicated that the viewing of the reflective-success model significantly increased the response latencies of all Ss, particularly slow responding Ss, and that the viewing of either reflective model (success or failure) significantly decreased the error rates of fast responding Ss. The impulsive model, on the other hand, had no significant effect on either response latencies or error rates.