Verbally Reported Research Articles

Drawing and Memory: What is the Content of Children’s Drawings and How Does it Differ From Their Verbal Reports?

This study investigated whether the content of children’s drawings of an event changes over three successive interviews about that event. It also assessed whether children recall more details verbally than they draw. Twenty-seven 3- to 6-year old children witnessed a live event which ended with one actor stealing a cuddly toy. They were interviewed about it 1 day, 2 weeks, and 6 months later. At each interview, children were asked to make a drawing of the event while narrating what happened. We analyzed the content of the drawings for seven features relevant to the event as well as inaccurate information. Children’s inclusion of “the perpetrator” and “the victim” decreased over time but the other features remained stable. Children verbally reported significantly more details than they drew. Our findings suggest that children provide less information in drawings than in verbal reports, but this information may be more reliable and stable compared to verbal reports over multiple interviews.

Exploring the use of think aloud within Women’s artistic gymnastics judging education

Gymnastics is a judgement-based sport whereby the decision-making processes of judges are expected to lead to valid and reliable outcome scores. The concurrent Think Aloud method has been used to study decision-making amongst coaches and athletes in previous sport-related studies but never in judging-based studies. Hence, this project has two aims: 1) to explore decision-making underpinning the judging process in Women’s Artistic Gymnastic (WAG) by using a concurrent verbal report, Think Aloud (TA) and: 2) to examine the utilisation of TA as a means to facilitate judging education with Malaysian WAG judges. 10 qualified judges were required to verbalise (TA) their thought processes whilst judging a balance beam routine. Follow-up interviews investigated the prospective utilisation of TA within judging education. During the judging process participants verbally reported most frequently as to lack of balance, bending of arms and knees, pointing of feet, confidence, rhythm and tempo, and personal style as focal points for scoring. Overall TA was reported prospectively as an appropriate tool for use within judging education, however, some participants reported performance in the primary task of judging was affected by TA. Study outcomes reported the potential utility of TA to study the decision-making process amongst judges to enable deduction scores to be applied objectively. This study will inform future research to investigate the decision-making processes of both expert and novice judging extending to that of all four WAG apparatus.

Compensating for failed attention while driving

While operating a motor vehicle, drivers must pay attention to other moving vehicles and the roadside environment in order to detect and process critical information related to the driving task. Using a driving simulator, this study investigated the effects of an unexpected event on driver performance in environments of more or less clutter and under situations of high attentional load. Attentional load was manipulated by varying the number of neighboring vehicles participants tracked for lane changes. After baseline-driving behavior was established, the unexpected event occurred: a pedestrian ran into the driver’s path. Tracking-accuracy, brake initiation, swerving, and verbal report of the unexpected pedestrian were used to assess driver performance. All participants verbally reported noticing the pedestrian. However, analyses of driving behavior revealed differences in the reactions to the pedestrian: drivers braked faster and had significantly less deviation in their steering heading with a lower attentional load, and participants in low clutter environments had a larger overall change in velocity. This research advances the understanding of how drivers allocate attention between various stimuli and the trade-offs between a driver’s focus on an assigned task and external objects within the roadway environment. Moreover, the results of this research lend insight into how to construct roadway environments that encourage driver attention toward the most immediate and relevant information to reduce both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian interactions.

Prior knowledge of blood glucose meter download improves the accuracy of verbal self-reported blood glucose in teenagers with type I diabetes at ski camp.

Despite advances in diabetes management, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) remains fundamental. A number of studies, principally in adults, have confirmed that logbook entries and verbal SMBG reports are prone to common errors. In the context of an adolescent diabetes camp, the accuracy of verbally reported SMBG is crucial for guiding safe therapeutic management, and negating the risk of exercise-induced hypoglycemia. We aimed to assess whether awareness of a planned meter download at the completion of a diabetes camp would improve the overall accuracy of verbally reported SMBG. Adolescents with type one diabetes (n=26) attended a 3-day ski camp in 2014. Verbally reported SMBG values were recorded by camp supervisors at multiple time points throughout the camp. The intervention involved ensuring that all participants (at camp commencement) were aware of a planned meter download and SMBG review at camp conclusion. These data were then compared with historical camp data from 2012, collected using identical methodology, in which participants (n=20) were unaware of the planned meter download. For analysis, blood glucose (BGL) data were classified as: matching, phantom (verbal SMBG value with no corresponding meter download value), and over- or underestimate (verbally reported value>/<meter downloaded value). Dual data regarding verbal SMBG and meter downloads were obtained on 550instances of BGL testing during the 2014 camp (the intervention group). This was compared to dual data for 396 historical tests from the 2012 control group. For the intervention group, the overall error rate was 4.7%, over 34% of participants. There was a statistically significant improvement in accuracy compared to historical nonintervention data, in which there was an error rate of 14.1% over 70% of participants (p<0.001). There was also a decrease in phantom readings to 2%, from 8.6% in 2012 (p<0.001). This study demonstrates an improvement in accuracy and reliability of verbally reported SMBG, following a simple intervention of ensuring participants were aware of a meter download at the completion of camp. This intervention could be easily incorporated into adolescent diabetes camp safety protocols and may provide an easy, low-cost way of improving verbally reported SMBG accuracy and therefore safety on camp.

Children's understanding of the addition/subtraction complement principle.

In the last decades, children's understanding of mathematical principles has become an important research topic. Different from the commutativity and inversion principles, only few studies have focused on children's understanding of the addition/subtraction complement principle (if a-b=c, then c+b=a), mainly relying on verbal techniques. This contribution aimed at deepening our understanding of children's knowledge of the addition/subtraction complement principle, combining verbal and non-verbal techniques. Participants were 67 third and fourth graders (9- to 10-year-olds). Children solved two tasks in which verbal reports as well as accuracy and speed data were collected. These two tasks differed only in the order of the problems and the instructions. In the looking-back task, children were told that sometimes the preceding problem might help to answer the next problem. In the baseline task, no helpful preceding items were offered. The looking-back task included 10 trigger-target problem pairs on the complement relation. Children verbally reported looking back on about 40% of all target problems in the looking-back task; the target problems were also solved faster and more accurately than in the baseline task. These results suggest that children used their understanding of the complement principle. The verbal and non-verbal data were highly correlated. This study complements previous work on children's understanding of mathematical principles by highlighting interindividual differences in 9- to 10-year-olds' understanding of the complement principle and indicating the potential of combining verbal and non-verbal techniques to investigate (the acquisition of) this understanding.

The importance of needle gauge for pain during injection of lidocaine

Background: Local anaesthetics such as lidocaine are used both in minor and major surgical procedures, and can be painful. Different methods have been investigated to reduce the discomfort of the injections. This study investigated if different needle gauges can influence the pain experienced during injection of lidocaine. Methods: A randomised study was performed on 36 healthy volunteers. Each participant received three injections of 3 ml 1% lidocaine subcutaneously on the abdomen using needles of different gauges. Following each injection, the participants evaluated the pain experienced on a visual analogue scale (VAS). After the session, they were asked to evaluate verbally which injection they found least and most painful. The VAS and verbal reports were used and compared to evaluate the difference between the two types of clinically reported pain scales. Results: Twenty-one participants verbally reported the thinnest needle (27 gauge (G)) as least painful, compared to the intermediate (23 gauge; p = 0.013) and the thickest needle (21 gauge, p = 0.004). The mean VAS scores were 19 (SD = 13) for the 21 gauge, 18 (SD = 13) for the 23 gauge, and 16 (SD = 14) for the 27 gauge needles. Conclusion: A significant preponderance of respondents stated that there had been less pain using the thinnest needle. Mean VAS responses showed the same trend, but the differences between them were not statistically significant.

Characteristics of contralesional and ipsilesional saccades in hemianopic patients

In order to further our understanding of action-blindsight, four hemianopic patients suffering from visual field loss contralateral to a unilateral occipital lesion were compared to six healthy controls during a double task of verbally reported target detection and saccadic responses toward the target. Three oculomotor tasks were used: a fixation task (i.e., without saccade) and two saccade tasks (eliciting reflexive and voluntary saccades, using step and overlap 600 ms paradigms, respectively), in separate sessions. The visual target was briefly presented at two different eccentricities (5° and 8°), in the right or left visual hemifield. Blank trials were interleaved with target trials, and signal detection theory was applied. Despite their hemifield defect, hemianopic patients retained the ability to direct a saccade toward their contralesional hemifield, whereas verbal detection reports were at chance level. However, saccade parameters (latency and amplitude) were altered by the defect. Saccades to the contralesional hemifield exhibited longer latencies and shorter amplitudes compared to those of the healthy group, whereas only the latencies of reflexive saccades to the ipsilesional hemifield were altered. Furthermore, healthy participants showed the expected latency difference between reflexive and voluntary saccades, with the latter longer than the former. This difference was not found in three out of four patients in either hemifield. Our results show action-blindsight for saccades, but also show that unilateral occipital lesions have effects on saccade generation in both visual hemifields.

Evaluation and Utility of a Family Information Table to Identify and Test Children at Risk for HIV in Kenya

Effective strategies to identify and screen children at risk for HIV are needed. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the utilization of a family information table (FIT) to identify and test at-risk children in Kenya and identify factors associated with child testing. A cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-infected adults with children at five Kenyan clinics. HIV testing status for children aged ≤18 years was gathered from the patients' FITs and compared to reports from in-person clinic visits as the gold standard. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess predictors for HIV testing of children adjusted for confounders and within parent correlation. Our sample included 384 HIV-infected adults enrolled in care with 933 reported children. Overall, 323 FITs (84%) correctly listed all children in the family and 340 (89%) documented an HIV testing status (including untested) for all children. Seventy-five percent of parents verbally reported all children tested, compared to only 46% of FITs (OR=13.5, 95% CI 6.5-27.8). Verbal reports identified 739 (79%) children tested, with 55 (7.4%) HIV-positive and 17 (2.3%) HIV-exposed infants (HEI). Of 63 adults with HIV-positive children or HEI, 60 (95%) reported enrolling children into care. Likelihood that children had been tested was higher for younger children (≤4y vs. > 4y, aOR=2.0; 95% CI 1.4-2.9) and lower if the partner's serostatus was unknown vs. seropositive (aOR=0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-0.8). Although the FIT may be a useful tool to identify children at risk for HIV, this study found underutilization by providers. To maximize impact of this tool, documentation of follow-up for untested and positive children is essential. Through early documentation of at-risk children and follow up of untested and infected children, the FIT may serve as an effective resource for improving HIV testing and linkage to care.

Analgesic effects of multisensory illusions in osteoarthritis

Analgesic effects of multisensory illusions in osteoarthritis

Drawings as memory aids: Optimising the drawing method to facilitate young children's recall

There has been supportive evidence of drawing facilitating young children's event recall. The present study investigated whether additional event details are recalled if the interviewer uses interactive questions in response to information children have spontaneously drawn or verbally reported. Eighty 5- to 6-year-olds were shown a video clip of a novel event and were interviewed the following day. The children were randomly allocated to one of four recall conditions: tell-only, draw-and-tell, interactive draw-and-tell and interactive tell-only. The children's verbal reports were transcribed and scored on four different categories of recall: items (objects and people), actions, colours and sayings. The interactive draw-and-tell group recalled more correct information for items compared to the other three recall groups, without any accompanying increase in errors. We propose that drawing increases the opportunity for the interviewer to ask interactive questions, which in turn facilitates children's accurate recall of item information. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of Various Instructional Conditions on Expressive Music Performance

This study is a comparison of the effectiveness of three approaches used to elicit expressivity in music students' performances: (a) aural modeling, (b) verbal instruction addressing concrete musical properties, and (c) verbal instruction using imagery and metaphor. Thirty-six college pianists worked with three melodies, one in each instructional condition. With each, subjects first gave a baseline performance, then received instruction for performing more expressively, and then gave a final performance. Subjects also verbally reported their thoughts during the process. Results confirmed that musicians can accommodate all three types of instruction used in the study and that each has strengths and weaknesses related to the characteristics of the music being performed and the musicians themselves. Additionally, analysis of the verbal reports suggested that musicians may use a cognitive translation process whereby they convert metaphor/imagery information into more explicit plans for changing the expressive musical properties of their performance (e.g., loudness, tempo, articulation). August 22, 2005 January 30, 2006

An application of pain rating scales in geriatric patients

This study examined the applicability of three different pain rating scales, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Graphic Rating Scale (GRS) and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), in geriatric patients. Data collection was performed in a geriatric clinic at a university hospital. A structured interview was conducted with 167 patients (mean age = 80.5 years). Patients rated their current experience of pain twice with a 5-minute pause in-between on the VAS, GRS and NRS, and were then asked if they experienced pain, ache or hurt (PAH) or other symptoms. The correlations were high and significant both between the ratings of the VAS, GRS and NRS (r = 0.78-0.92; p < 0.001) (alternative-forms reliability), and between the test and retesting (r = 0.75-r = 0.83; p < 0.001) (test-retest reliability). A logistic regression analysis showed that the probability to accomplish a rating on the pain scales decreased with advancing age of the patient, and this was especially marked for the VAS. The probability of agreement between the patients' ratings of pain and the verbal report of PAH tended to decrease with advancing age; this was especially so for the VAS. Patients who verbally denied PAH but reported pain on the scales rated it significant lower (p < 0.001) than those who verbally reported PAH and rated the pain as well. Eighteen percent of patients who denied pain but rated a pain experience verbally expressed suffering or distress. The study suggests that pain rating scales such as the VAS, GRS and NRS can be used to evaluate pain experience in geriatric patients. However, agreement between verbally expressed experience of PAH, and the rated experience of pain tended to decrease with advancing age. This indicates that the pain-evaluating process will be substantially improved by an additional penetration supported by a wide variety of expression of hurt, ache, pain, discomfort and distress.

Human Factors Issues Related to Use of Vision Enhancement Systems

Vision enhancement systems (VESs) are being developed to improve nighttime driving safety by providing enhanced contrast to drivers. To determine how to evaluate the potential benefits or limitations of such systems, a small-scale investigation of driver performance and behavior with a mockup VES was conducted. To maximize external validity and minimize safety risks, a field experiment was designed and conducted on a closed test track. Four younger observers (ages 26 to 36 years) and four older observers (ages 56 to 70 years) drove an instrumented vehicle and verbally reported the detection and recognition of targets while performing speed monitoring and navigation tasks. Targets near the edges of the lane of travel were detected with and without a mock-up VES and with and without headlight glare. Video recordings of the VES, road scene, driver, and data acquisition screen were obtained. Time code, distance traveled, verbal reports, and gas pedal, brake pedal, and steering wheel measurements were recorded. Results suggested that although the mockup VES provided target contrast at longer preview distances than low-beam headlights alone, the VES enhancements were not always detected by drivers because of the visual, scanning, and cognitive demands of the driving tasks. Also, older drivers were less willing to use the mock-up VES. On the basis of verbal reports, the consensus among all observers was that the VES increased curve detection distances relative to those achieved with low-beam headlights alone. The implications of the study findings for VES use, design, and evaluation are discussed.

A Note on State Individual Differences in Accuracy of Response Imagery: Aftereffects and Reminiscence

In two sessions, separated by 7 days, subjects imagined themselves performing a tracking task under a massed practice schedule. After conditions of interpolated rest and no-rest, which were counterbalanced across sessions, subjects actually performed the tracking task. During imagery practice, subjects verbally reported the temporal component of the task. The temporal accuracy of verbal reports varied widely across subjects, but not within subjects. Furthermore, a performance gain was demonstrated as a function of interpolated rest versus no-rest (reminiscence effect). Finally, the accuracy of verbal reports predicted imagery aftereffects, but not reminiscence effects.

The visual analog scale in the immediate postoperative period: intrasubject variability and correlation with a numeric scale.

The visual analog scale (VAS) has been used to assess the efficacy of pain management regimens in patients with acute postoperative pain, but its usefulness has not been confirmed in postoperative pain studies. We studied 60 subjects in the immediate postoperative period. The specific data collected were: VAS scores versus an 11-point numeric pain scale; repeatability in VAS scores over a short time interval; and change in VAS scores from one assessment period to the next versus a verbal report of change in pain. The correlation coefficients for VAS scores with the 11-point pain scale were 0.94, 0.91, and 0.95. The repeatability coefficients were 17.6, 23.0, and 13.5 mm. Of the 56 patients who completed all three assessments, only 16 (29%) had repeatability within 5 mm on all three. Some of the changes in VAS scores between assessments were in the direction opposite the verbally reported changes in pain (31%); however, most (92%) were within 20 mm. There was no correlation between the level of sedation, previous pain experience, anxiety, or anticipated pain with consistency in VAS scores. We conclude that any single VAS score in the immediate postoperative period should be considered to have an imprecision of +/- 20 mm. The visual analog scale was developed for assessing chronic pain but is often used in studies of postoperative pain. This study finds that the visual analog scale correlates well with a verbal 11-point scale but that any individual determination has an imprecision of +/- 20 mm.

音楽の情動性がＧＳＲおよび呼吸におよぼす影響 言語報告と生理的反応との関係

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between verbally reported emotional meanings of music and physiological responses to them. Subjects were 16 female, junior college students in each of GSR and respiration experiments. They listened to 16 musical excerpts and rated each on 11 scales, which consisted of eight adjectives representing for four factors identified by factor analysis and each for familiarity, preference and tempo, while their GSRs or respiration rates were recorded. The respiration rates and their percentages of increase significantly correlated positively with ratings of “cheerful”, “gay” and “powerful”, and negatively with “calm”, “melancholy” and “dismal”. The numbers of GSRs (frequencies of marked GSRs) and the percentages of decrease in skin resistance significantly correlated negatively with “calm”, and positively with “powerful”. The physiological variables employed in this study correlated with the verbal reports of meanings of music.

Physical posture: Could it have regulatory or feedback effects on motivation and emotion?

Four studies were conducted in a laboratory setting to examine whether variations in physical posture can have a regulatory or feedback role affecting motivation and emotion. The results of the first study, which were replicated in the second study, revealed that subjects who had been temporarily placed in a slumped, depressed physical posture later appeared to develop helplessness more readily, as assessed by their lack of persistence in a standard learned helplessness task, than did subjects who had been placed in an expansive, upright posture; surprisingly, there were no differences in verbal reports. The third study established that physical posture was an important cue in observers' verbal reports of depression in another person. The fourth study further explored the role of posture in self-reports of emotion using another posture. The results indicated that subjects who were placed in a hunched, threatened physical posture verbally reported self-perceptions of greater stress than subjects who were placed in a relaxed position. The findings of these studies are interpreted in terms of self-perception theory. It is suggested that physical postures of the body are one of several types of cues that can affect emotional experience and behavior.