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The Role of Surprise in Learning: Different Surprising Outcomes Affect Memorability Differentially
Meadhbh I Foster1, Mark T Keane1
1School of Computer Science and Informatics, University College Dublin.
Topics in Cognitive Science
|October 31, 2018
Summary
Greater explanatory effort for surprising outcomes enhances memory recall. This study shows that difficult-to-explain surprises improve learning and memorability more than easily explained or normal events.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Learning Sciences
Background:
- Surprise is a cognitive-emotional phenomenon influencing decision-making, creativity, and learning.
- Historically viewed as a basic emotion, recent research emphasizes surprise's cognitive role in "sense-making" and "explanation-finding."
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend metacognitive explanation-based theory to understand surprise's role in learning and memory.
- To investigate how the difficulty of explaining surprising outcomes affects their memorability.
Main Methods:
- The study tested how scenarios with varying levels of surprising outcomes impact recall accuracy.
- Participants were presented with scenarios requiring different amounts of explanatory work to resolve.
Main Results:
- Outcomes requiring more cognitive effort to explain were recalled more accurately.
- Highly surprising (less-known) outcomes were better remembered than less-surprising (known) or normal outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The difficulty of explaining an outcome is directly related to its memorability.
- Surprise enhances learning and memory when it necessitates significant cognitive or explanatory work.
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