TEST-PROXIMITY EFFECTS IN A SINGLE-SESSION INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES STUDY OF LEARNING-ABILITY - THE CASE OF ACTIVATION SAVINGS

In Woltz (1988a), an ability measure, activation savings, was shown to be related to a cognitive skill only after the skill had been practiced. However, the experimental design administered the skill learning first and the ability measure second in the same session. Therefore, the savings measure could be consequential to practiced skill, not because of cognitive overlap, but because of the proximity of savings' measurement to the measurement of practiced skill. This possibility was assessed using a single-session design in which an activation-savings measure was given in alternate forms before and after the learning task. Proximity effects were large in the full sample, as only the after-form of the predictor correlated to practiced skill. However, Woltz's basic result replicated for both before and after predictors when extreme scorers were excluded, although test-proximity effects were also observed in the remaining subjects. Implications are discussed for single-session individual differences research involving stages of skill acquisition and specific cognitive abilities.