Effects of self-recording on attendance and performance in a competitive swimming training environment.
Let athletes publicly self-record attendance and completed workout units—cuts coach supervision time and boosts output ~27%.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The coach put up two big white boards next to the pool.
Swimmers wrote their own names under "here" when they arrived.
They also ticked off each training unit they finished.
No one stood over them; the team could see every mark.
What they found
Lateness and no-shows dropped to zero once the board went up.
Work units climbed about 27 percent and stayed high.
The coach spent less time taking roll and chasing kids.
How this fits with other research
Gentry et al. (1980) saw the same lift with police drivers.
Their tachograph charts, posted weekly, cut crashes the way the board cut tardiness.
Wolchik et al. (1982) got fast results too, but they used spoken prompts instead of self-records.
All three studies show cheap public cues can steer adult behavior without extra staff.
Why it matters
You can hand the data job to the client.
Post a chart, have learners mark their own steps, and you free up staff for teaching.
Try it for staff meetings, toileting logs, or gym attendance.
One board, one marker, big payoff.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Swimmers' attendance at training and work rates were described by their coaches as being poor and irregular. Reinforcement contingencies were developed to remedy these unsatisfactory conditions. Two experiments were conducted. A multiple baseline design verified the effects of publicly marking attendance at practice as a sufficient solution for reducing absenteeism, tardiness, and leaving early. Follow-up analyses showed this contingency to have lasting effects. In the second experiment, a reversal design was used to assess the effects of employing program boards as a means of increasing work output during practice. Work rates in eight selected swimmers were elevated by an average of 27.1% when the boards were instituted. Follow-up evaluations showed that the use of the program boards had lasting effects. Publicly checking the completion of each training unit of work changed the nature of the swimming environment to produce a more productive use of time. The role of the coach was subsequently changed as less time was spent in directing and supervising behaviors.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1974 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1974.7-199