Reversing the testing effect by feedback is a matter of performance criterion at practice
- PDF / 683,740 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 53 Downloads / 156 Views
Reversing the testing effect by feedback is a matter of performance criterion at practice Mihály Racsmány 1,2 & Ágnes Szőllősi 1,2 & Miklós Marián 1
# The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Retrieval practice is generally considered to be one of the most effective long-term learning strategies and is presumed to be more favorable than repeated study. However, a few recent studies have demonstrated that repetitive feedback at final recall can reverse the long-term advantage of testing over restudy. The result that feedback at long-term tests can dramatically decrease the relative effectiveness of retrieval-based learning could be important for both theoretical and practical reasons. Considering that these earlier studies administered low retrieval success at retrieval practice, we investigated whether the effect of feedback on the testing effect is modulated by the level of retrieval success during practice. In three experiments the level of success at retrieval practice was manipulated by multiple pre-practice learning trials, and multiple tests with feedback were applied after a 1-week retention interval at final recall. Our results have demonstrated that a feedback-induced reversed testing effect was present only at low retrieval success during practice (Experiment 1), whereas with moderate (Experiment 2) and high retrieval success (Experiment 3) during practice a significant testing effect emerged and no reversed testing effect was found even after repeated cycles of feedback. These results point to the conclusion that the level of retrieval success was the key factor in reversing the testing effect in earlier studies. Application of high retrieval success during practice can produce long-lasting accessible memories even in learning settings applying multiple tests with feedback. Keywords (Reversed) testing effect . Feedback-based learning . Practice criterion . Cued recall
Introduction Test in the form of retrieval practice can boost long-term learning. An extensive amount of research has shown that taking a memory test on some learning material can improve long-term retention relative to repeatedly studying the material, a phenomenon known as the testing effect (e.g., Carrier & Pashler, 1992; Roediger & Butler, 2011; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006a, 2006b; Wheeler & Roediger, 1992). Knowledge acquired by retrieval practice is more resistant to interference effects and shows a lower forgetting rate (Kliegl & Bauml, 2016; Racsmány & Keresztes, 2015; Szpunar, McDermott, & Roediger, 2008; but see Siler and Benjamin, * Mihály Racsmány [email protected] 1
Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry József utca 1, Budapest 1111, Hungary
2
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
2019, for evidence that under certain conditions, testing does not appear to reduce forgetting, but it is a potent means of enhancing inference). Additionally, retrieval practice produces better organization of the acquired knowledge, enh
Data Loading...
