Retrieval fluency inflates perceived preparation for difficult problems

Bibliographic Data

ID21602258
AuthorsNadia M Brashier (0000-0001-8039-9477, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA, corresponding author), Catherine H Ho (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA), T’Ajmal K Hogue (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA), Daniel L Schacter (0000-0002-2460-6061, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Year2024
Volume32
Issue1
Pages83-89
Publication date2024-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMemory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0965-8211 • E-ISSN: 1464-0686
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09658211.2023.2284401
PMID38109129
OpenAlexW4389890652
LanguageEN
References cited55

When faced with a difficult problem, people often rely on past experiences. While remembering clearly helps us reach solutions, can retrieval also lead to misperceptions of our abilities? In three experiments, participants encountered “worst case scenarios” they likely had never experienced and that would be difficult to navigate without extensive training (e.g., bitten by snake). Learning brief tips improved problem-solving performance later, but retrieval increased feelings of preparation by an even larger margin. This gap occurred regardless of whether people thought that tips came from an expert or another participant in the study, and it did not reflect mere familiarity with the problems themselves. Instead, our results suggest that the ease experienced while remembering, or retrieval fluency, inflated feelings of preparation

Cognitive psychology · Feeling · Fluency · Mathematics education · Processing fluency · Computer Science · Memory Processes and Influences · Psychology · Social Psychology · Team Dynamics and Performance · Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes

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