Confidence in accuracy moderates the benefits of retrieval practice

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Learning Sciences

Background:

• Retrieval practice, or testing effect, is a robust learning phenomenon.
• The underlying mechanisms, including metacognitive monitoring, are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of retrieval confidence in the effectiveness of retrieval practice.
• To determine if metacognitive monitoring influences learning outcomes during retrieval practice.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted using word-pair learning.
• Participants engaged in retrieval practice (cued-recall or multiple-choice) and rated their confidence.
• Control groups utilized re-study trials.

Main Results:

• The classic retrieval practice effect was observed in both experiments.
• Retrieval practice benefits were contingent on retrieval confidence, emerging only for high-confidence trials (>56% confidence in Exp.2).

Conclusions:

• Retrieval practice facilitates learning primarily for items confidently recalled.
• Metacognitive monitoring of retrieval success, indicated by confidence ratings, is a critical factor in the retrieval practice effect.