The Effect of Incentives on the Reliability and Validity of Cognitive Speed Tests
Abstract
In the present study, financial incentives were used to motivate test takers, so that the effect of motivation on elementary cognitive tests could be determined. One hundred and nine male and female volunteer college students were tested on a battery of microcomputerized cognitive tests. One hundred of these subjects returned for a second session in which they were randomly assigned to an incentive or no incentive condition and then retested. The effort expended on the tests were measured via heart rate, skin conductance, and a self-report questionnaire pertaining to the perceived level of difficulty of the tests and amount of effort expended on them. Criterion measures, including the Advanced Otis-Lennon Test of Mental Abilities, Standard and Advanced Raven Progressive Matrices, and scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test were also taken. The findings revealed that incentives led to better performance only on the most complex task in the study. If no case, however, did incentives affect the overall IQ-performance correlation for the tests used in the battery. These results support the view that correlations between cognitive speed and intelligence reflect common mental capacities, rather than some affective variable such as motivation. Keywords: Cognitive speed, Reaction time, Inspection time, Information processing, Motivation, Incentives, Intelligence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA211346
Entities
People
- Dennis P. Saccuzzo
- Gerald E. Larson
- James Brown