The rich-get-richer effect: Prior knowledge predicts new learning of domain-relevant information

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Learning Sciences

Background:

• Student learning is influenced by varying levels of prior knowledge.
• The relationship between prior knowledge and the acquisition of novel information has not been systematically studied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how prior knowledge impacts the learning of new, previously unknown information.
• To explore the domain specificity of the prior knowledge-new learning relationship.
• To examine the role of curiosity in mediating this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments were conducted where students were tested on prior knowledge in football and cooking.
• Participants learned new, false information within these domains, made judgments of learning, and completed a final test.
• In Experiment 3, curiosity ratings were collected to assess its mediating role.

Main Results:

• Prior knowledge positively correlated with learning new information within the same domain, demonstrating a domain-specific "rich-get-richer" effect.
• Prior knowledge also positively predicted judgments of learning.
• Curiosity judgments mediated the link between prior knowledge and new learning.

Conclusions:

• The "rich-get-richer" effect in learning is domain-specific.
• Curiosity may enhance learning for individuals with high prior knowledge by influencing attention and encoding during feedback.
• Findings suggest curiosity is a key factor in how prior knowledge facilitates new learning.