The Effects of Feedback Timing on Learning Facts: The Role of Response Confidence

Abstract We examined the influence of immediate and delayed feedback on learning general information multiple-choice items. In two experiments, people answered 90 items on two occasions 1 week apart. On each occasion, they also rated their confidence in their responses. The behaviors measured included response accuracy and confidence, study-time for feedback, 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 retention and increased confidence on the post-test items. Delayed feedback also increased feedback study-time. Overall, the conditional probability of correctly responding on the post-test varied systematically with level of confidence expressed during the first testing occasion. Results are further discussed in terms of their compatibility with assumptions made from existing models of feedback processing and their relation to the meta-cognitive monitoring processes that appear to be central in learning factual information.