Effects of human self-assessment responding on learning

Abstract

Examined the effects of self-assessment (SA) responding on acquisition rate in paired-associates learning with 190 undergraduates. SA responding required the learner to indicate the degree of sureness in the correctness of each answer by pressing one of several buttons (representing different levels of sureness) either immediately before or after each answer. The number of trials required to learn the names of 8 tools by 20 Ss in each group, who made SA responses using either 2, 4, or 8 SA-response buttons, was compared with the number of trials required by Ss in 3 control groups, who either performed only the learning task or in addition pressed a single button labeled Record either before or after each answer. Results show that acquisition was expedited by as much as 25% by SA responding and was more rapid if the SA response was executed after the answer, rather than before it. The more rapid acquisition is tentatively attributed to a greater ability of the learner who engages in SA responding to identify a correct response. (6 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)