Confidence ratings are unlikely to be an effective educational tool when knowledge transfer is the goal¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r3 · q1
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? The authors argue that because confidence ratings impaired rule learning, which underpins knowledge transfer, they are unlikely to assist education where transfer is the ultimate goal. → Kit S. Double 2025

Evidence¶

Kit S. Double 2025¶

Kit S. Double, Micah B. Goldwater, Damian P. Birney. (2025). Reactivity to confidence ratings: evidence of impaired rule-learning. Metacognition and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-025-09413-5

q1 · i? · causal · r3

Authors' interpretation in the Discussion, resting on the experimental finding of impaired rule-learning under confidence ratings and the argument that knowledge transfer is a central goal of education that is often difficult to generate. No separate educational outcome was measured in this study.

"Furthermore, this study provides evidence that confidence rat -ings are unlikely to be an effective educational tool, particularly if knowledge transfer is the ultimate goal."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Reactivity differs by rating scope: item-focused confidence ratings impaired rule learning while task-focused judgments of learning did not — related
• Eliciting confidence ratings impairs rule-based category learning compared to both no-rating and judgment-of-learning conditions on ambiguous transfer items — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• The confidence-rating impairment on ambiguous transfer items persists among participants who met the learning criterion — related
• Confidence ratings do not impede category learning per se: no condition differences in training accuracy or on unambiguous and trained transfer items — related