Feedback and Instructions in Verbal Discrimination Learning

Abstract

120 volunteers learned a 12-pair, low-frequency verbal-discrimination list. The independent variables were feedback (positive only, negative only or continuous), task instructions (informed or uninformed regarding the nature of the task), and feedback instructions (informed or uninformed regarding the type of feedback). Using the total errors to criterion as the dependent variable, the results were analyzed using a 3 × 2 × 2 analysis of variance. The main effect of task feedback was significant. Subjects who received detailed instructions learned the list quicker than those who were given discovery instructions. The main effects of feedback and task instructions were not significant. None of the interactions were significant. The failure to find an interaction between feedback and instructions suggests that feedback contingencies produce differences in performance only for select populations.