Effects Of Blank Versus Noninformative Feedback And Right And Wrong On Response Repetition In Paired-Associate Learning

Examined response repetition as a function of feedback type. 16 male and 16 female undergraduates were presented with a paired-associate learning task. Informationless feedback consisted of either the standard blank or a redundant reminder of the 2 response alternatives, with Ss informed in both cases that such feedback conveyed no information. Both types of feedback resulted in an equally strong tendency for S to repeat responses which they followed, with the probability of repetition only slightly less than that obtained for "right." "Wrong" resulted in marked response suppression. Findings on informationless feedback support A. M. Buchwald's view that blank feedback is functionally equivalent to "right" or "wrong" feedback which is forgotten. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)