Self-Recording of Productivity: How Intermittent and Summative Procedures Affect Reactivity

I examined the effects of self-recording on student academic performance and behavior. Self-recording is a self-management procedure that capitalizes on reactivity to modify performance. Scores of studies show that self-recording affects behaviors across settings and contexts. This study compared the effects of two separate self-recording procedures, intermittent and summative self-recording, on individuals’ productivity.

The current study employed a combination of multiple-baseline and alternating-treatment designs, developed to isolate the effects of student self-recording within a controlled setting. Through analysis of the data, I concluded that the addition of the self-recording procedure had a positive effect on rate of responding, but the effects on attending to task and accuracy of responding were not as obvious. Additionally, the results show that summative self-recording may have a larger effect on productivity than intermittent recording.