The Yoked Control for Assessing Branching Effects : Does Individualization Help? / James G. Holland and Jeanne S. Hoffman.

An experiment investigated whether adapting to individual differences in a finely-graded, single-skill program improved performance. Three types of item sequences were used. The linear group received the program in its original linear sequence. Each member of the branched group entered the program at the point determined by his performance on the branching items. Each yoked subject was paired randomly with a member of the branched group and received the item sequence, including branching items, determined by the performance of his branched partner. The yoked group provided a control for the adapting process. The only difference between the branched and yoked groups was that the item sequences were adaptive to and appropriate for the branched subjects and not for the yoked subjects. The branched and yoked groups did not differ on any of the dependent variables. Thus no gain could be attributed to the adaptive process. The results suggested that the merits of adapting to individual differences should no longer be accepted on face validity. (JK)

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