Citation

Chapman CJ. J. Exp. Psychol. 1917; 2(3): 165-170.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1917, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/h0073084

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Investigated the effect of rapid changes of set on the rate of performance of work. Two mental operations were taken, such as those required in a simple addition and an ordinary cancellation test, to measure the extent to which speed of work was affected by rapid changes of attitude. The rates of work was compared for 120 Ss on 5 occasions, under 2 conditions: (1) when only 1 operation was performed for a certain period; and (2) when 2 operations were performed alternately for the same period. Results supported a previous hypothesis, that the phenomena of initial spurt was probably due to an interference effect which resulted from continued work. It has been suggested that the last named factor occupied a more important place than was supposed in mental operations, and that its effects should be measured over much shorter periods of time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)