THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK TIMING ON LEARNING FACTS - THE ROLE OF RESPONSE CONFIDENCE

We examined the influence of immediate and delayed feedback on learnin g general information multiple-choice items. In two experiments, peopl e answered 90 items on two occasions 1 week apart. On each occasion, t hey also rated their confidence in their responses. The behaviors meas ured included response accuracy and confidence, study-time for feedbac k, and the conditional probability of responding correctly on the post -test (given initially correct and incorrect responses) as a function of level of confidence. Immediate and delayed feedback improved retent ion and increased confidence on the post-test items. Delayed feedback also increased feedback study-time. Overall, the conditional probabili ty of correctly responding on the post-test varied systematically with level of confidence expressed during the first testing occasion. Resu lts are further discussed in terms of their compatibility with assumpt ions made from existing models of feedback processing and their relati on to the meta-cognitive monitoring processes that appear to be centra l in learning factual information. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.