When to move on to new learning : meta-cognition's role on updating with incorporation

"Updating with incorporation occurs when people learn previously unstudied (newer) information with the intention of adding it to a body of previously studied (older) information. Testing information usually leads to better recall later, even when exposure time is matched equally with the restudy group. However, in a specific paradigm which has participants review older information immediately before learning newer information, testing produces costs - poorer recall of the newer items - which outweigh the benefits - better recall of the older items. I propose that in this paradigm, testing the older information just before learning the newer information influences meta-cognitions and can encourage rehearsing older information at the cost of studying newer information. While my manipulations were successful, I did not find that increasing confidence about older learned information by manipulating test difficulty (Experiment 1 and 3) or word fluency (Experiment 2) diminished the costs and benefits. The costs and benefits are influenced by more than just participants' confidence. Post hoc evidence suggests participants only need moderate confidence while restudying older information to move on to studying newer information. Failure to replicate the costs and benefits with unassociated items hints at the importance of word association in producing this pattern of results."--Abstract from author supplied metadata