Analysis of Undergraduates’ Attendance at Class Meetings with and without Grade-Related Contingencies: A Contrast Effect

Abstract

The effect of quiz contingencies on attendance in three undergraduate classes was investigated. One class was required to take only four major examinations. A second class was required to take fifteen quizzes and the four major examinations. A third class received course credit for looking at graded quizzes and took the four major examinations. Results showed that attendance at test meetings (meetings where students took quizzes or exams) was approximately 90 percent for each class, while less than 55 percent for nontest meetings. Further, analysis of attendance for nontest meetings indicated that (a) attendance was lower for the last part of the semester compared to the first and (b) that frequent quizzing resulted in lower attendance for nontest meetings than infrequent quizzing. It was concluded that grade-related contingencies maintain high overall attendance. However, such contingencies may lower attendance at optional class meetings.