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Allocation of self-paced study time and the "labor-in-vain effect"
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
Summary
Metacognitive judgments influence study time allocation, but people often stop studying before mastery. Increased study time may not improve recall, demonstrating the "labor-in-vain effect" in learning.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Metacognition involves monitoring and control processes.
- Metacognitive judgments (e.g., ease-of-learning, feeling-of-knowing) may influence study-time allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if metacognitive monitoring outputs affect metacognitive control of self-paced study time.
- To examine the relationship between learning goals (accuracy vs. speed) and study-time allocation.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted with university undergraduates.
- Participants made ease-of-learning and feeling-of-knowing judgments.
- Study time was self-paced, with varying instructions on learning goals.
Main Results:
- Judgments reliably predicted study-time allocation, with more time for difficult items.
- Study was terminated before complete learning, even with unlimited time.
- Extended study time often yielded minimal recall improvement (labor-in-vain effect).
Conclusions:
- Metacognitive monitoring influences study-time control.
- Learners may not optimize study duration for maximal recall.
- A model of metacognitive interplay is proposed.