Feedback on a multiple-choice test sharply reduces lure intrusions on a later cued recall test, with immediate and delayed schedules equally effective¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causalr2·q3·i2–i3
Currency · newest study 2008 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i3 No feedback produced a significantly higher proportion of intrusions on the final cued recall test than immediate or delayed feedback. → Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III 2008
q3 i2 Feedback reduced lure intrusions to the no-test baseline level. → Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III 2008 (2)
Evidence¶
Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III 2008¶
Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III. (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604-616. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.3.604
q3 · i3 · causal · r2
Same 72-participant experiment, intrusion analysis on the forced-report cued recall test. Main effect of feedback condition ηp² = .25; no feedback yielded more lure responses than either feedback schedule, with printed effects d = .65 and d = .81; the article states both schedules were equally effective at reducing misinformation.
"there was a main effect o f feedback con dition [ F(2,138) 22.62, MSe 0.031, hp2 .25] in which no feedback produced a significantly higher proportion of intrusions than did the immediate feedback [t(71) 5.90, SEM 0.018, d .65, prep .99] and delayed feedback [t(71) 4.65, SEM 0.019, d .81, prep 1.00]"
Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III 2008 (2)¶
Andrew C. Butler and Henry L. Roediger III. (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604-616. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.3.604
q3 · i2 · causal · r2
Supplementary t test against the no-test control condition, in which no lures had been shown. Feedback reduced intrusions to baseline, whereas no feedback exceeded it, d = .65.
"an additional t test confirm ed that the no-feedback condition produced a higher proport ion of in-trusions than did the no test contro l condition in which no lures had been shown [t(71) 4.49, SEM 0.019, d .65, prep .99]. Feedback on the multi ple-choice test reduced lure intrusions to this baseline level."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Long-Term Memory — outcome: instruction changes it
Related Claims¶
- Feedback Enhances Retrieval Practice — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
- Feedback improves confidence calibration, and prior lure exposure inflates confidence in intrusions — related
- Feedback neutralizes the effect of prior study on final cued recall performance — related
- Providing feedback after initial multiple-choice tests cut lure intrusions on final short-answer tests roughly in half, with immediate and delayed feedback equally effective — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- Taking initial multiple-choice tests without feedback can lead students to later produce the incorrect lure answers they selected, even when an overall retrieval practice benefit occurs — related
- Taking a multiple-choice test produces a testing effect on later cued recall, but testing without study or feedback can be net harmful — related
- Immediate feedback reduces multiple-choice lure production on later tests, and the overall positive effect of testing outweighs negative consequences — related
- Multiple-choice testing increases the later production of multiple-choice lures as answers on cued recall tests, even under warning against guessing — related
- Multiple-choice testing improves later cued recall of prose facts, a benefit that persists though reduced after a one-week delay — related
- Positive and negative testing effects occur for questions tapping higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy, and question level does not change the memorial consequences of testing — related
- Cued-recall testing can impair later memory for competitive, related but non-practiced information (retrieval-induced forgetting) — related
- Retrieval practice mostly increases susceptibility to misinformation (retrieval-enhanced suggestibility) — related
- A literature survey suggests the generation effect is more likely to be demonstrated on delayed than immediate tests — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
feedback-reduces-lure-intrusions |
title |
Feedback on a multiple-choice test sharply reduces lure intrusions on a later cued recall test, with immediate and delayed schedules equally effective |
description |
Feedback on a multiple-choice test sharply reduces lure intrusions on a later cued recall test, with immediate and delayed schedules equally effective |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2008 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-15 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — andrew-c-butler-and-henry-l-roediger-iii-2008, andrew-c-butler-and-henry-l-roediger-iii-2008-2 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.