Browsing by Subject "Automaticity"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Automaticity of Basic Math Facts: The Key to Math Success?
    (2011) DeMaioribus, Carmel E; Hyman, Randy
    Despite a concerted effort by policy makers and educators to improve U.S. math education, student math scores remain unimpressive. In exploring possible reasons for this, this study examined the role that basic math fact automaticity plays in math success, where automaticity is defined as the ability to recall facts with speed and accuracy at an unconscious level. Information processing theory posits that automaticity frees up cognitive resources for more complex processes, and should therefore be an important part of learning math. To investigate this, basic multiplication fact fluency levels of a group of college students were determined by a timed math probe. These same students also completed a short survey assessing their attitudes and high school math achievements. The students’ levels of fluency as demonstrated on the math probe were then compared to their reported math attitudes and achievements. Relationships between levels of fluency and math attitude and achievement were noted. The most interesting finding, however, was the lack of basic multiplication fact automaticity in 90% of the college students tested. The implications of this lack of automaticity present an interesting subject for future study.
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    The role of habit in voting: making and breaking habitual voters
    (2013-08) Cravens, Matthew Dirks
    Political scientists repeatedly find that a person's turnout in past elections strongly predicts her future turnout. Scholars often interpret the association between past and future turnout as evidence of "habitual voting." However, the discipline has no widely accepted conceptual definition or empirical measure of habitual voting, and few systematic investigations of the causes and consequences of habitual voting. In this dissertation, I draw on research in psychology to propose a new theoretical framework for understanding turnout focusing on habit. The framework describes the processes that govern the formation of voting habits over time, the defining features of voting habits, and the factors that "make" and "break" voting habits. I test the propositions in the dissertation using data from an original panel survey of Minnesota registered voters conducted before and after the 2010 election in conjunction with state information on respondents' turnout over a six-year period. The data are first used to develop and validate a direct measure of the psychological features of voting habits. I use the measure to investigate the causal relationships among voting over time, changes in mood, efficacy, and geographic residence, and the strength of voting habits, among other factors. In the final chapters of the dissertation, I examine the different effects of mobilization messages and early voting policies on habitual and non-habitual voters.