Retroactive interference immediately after practice reduces the learning rate relative to interference after 10 s of rest, indicating within-seconds memory stabilization¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 The late interference group showed a higher learning rate than the early interference group, with a small effect size (Cohen's d 0.15), indicating stabilization of the motor memory within the first 10 s after each practice period. → Marlene Bönstrup 2020

Evidence¶

Marlene Bönstrup 2020¶

Marlene Bönstrup, Iñaki Iturrate, Martin N. Hebart, Nitzan Censor and Leonardo G. Cohen. (2020). Mechanisms of offline motor learning at a microscale of seconds in large-scale crowdsourced data. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-0066-9

q3 · i0 · causal · r2

Experiment 2: participants (N = 118 early, N = 126 late, N = 129 no interference) practiced a target sequence and were interfered by a second sequence either immediately or 10 s after each practice period. Learning-curve modeling showed a shallower rise with early interference; the printed effect size of the group difference was "Cohen ’s d 0.15", and the effect on number of correct sequences was significant at P < 0.05.

"The late interference group showed a higher learning rate compared wit h the early interference group (late: 0.26 ± 0.23, early: 2.15 ± 0.20, P = 0.04). The effect size of the group difference was small to medium (Cohen ’s d 0.15)"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Long-Term Memory — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Performance improvements during early motor skill learning occur predominantly during short rest periods (micro-offline gains), replicated in a large crowdsourced sample and in a laboratory study — related
• Small between-task relative to within-task interference in dual-task studies supports functional separation of phonological and visuospatial working memory, and newer experiments led Cowan's group to add specialized verbal and visual resources to the embedded-processes account — related
• A declarative task placed early in training is associated with a small, transient reduction in post-rest gain (Experiment 3), with only weak statistical support — related