New information that is compatible with pre-existing knowledge can be learned faster. Such schema memory effect has been reported in declarative memory and in explicit motor sequence learning (MSL). Here, we investigated if sequences of key presses that were compatible to previously trained ones, could be learned faster in an implicit MSL task.…

Being able to notice that a cause-effect relation is getting stronger or weaker is important for adapting to one's environment and deciding how to use the cause in the future. We conducted an experiment in which participants learned about a cause-effect relation that either got stronger or weaker over time. The experiment was conducted with a…

Spatial navigation relies on extracting environmental information to determine where to go. To support navigation behavior, navigational aids, such as maps, compasses, or global positioning systems (GPSs), offer access to easily extractible information, but do these aids enhance spatial memory? Here, we propose the hypothesis that navigation aids…

Statistical learning allows us to implicitly create memory traces of recurring sequential patterns appearing in our environment. Here, we study the dynamics of how these sequential memory traces develop in a species of nonhuman primates (i.e., Guinea baboons, "Papio papio") that, unlike humans, cannot use language and verbal recoding…

When people remember together, what one person says can affect what others report. The size of this effect is dependent on the characteristics of the people and how they express their beliefs. The power relationship among people affects much of their social cognition, including the size of this "memory conformity" effect. Some research…

Recent evidence has shown that eliciting confidence ratings can affect cognitive performance--a so-called reactivity effect. Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for reactivity, but currently there is only indirect evidence about why confidence ratings are reactive. Here, we explore the strategic changes in cognitive processes that…

Successful recognition is generally thought to be based on both recollection and familiarity of studied information. Recent studies found that making judgments of learning (JOLs) can reactively facilitate recognition performance, a form of reactivity effect on memory. The current study aimed to explore the roles of recollection and familiarity in…

Retrospective confidence refers to the phenomenological experience of the level of certainty that retrieved information is, in fact, correct. Retrospective confidence judgments are examined across a range of sub-disciplines in psychology from perception to memory research, and in education and legal applications. This paper focuses on…

Perception and perceptual memory play crucial roles in fear generalization, yet their dynamic interaction remains understudied. This research (N = 80) explored their relationship through a classical differential conditioning experiment. Results revealed that while fear context perception fluctuates over time with a drift effect, perceptual memory…

Prior research suggests that the effectiveness of retrieval practice may be moderated by response format: overt retrieval (e.g., typing a response) outperforms covert retrieval (e.g., mentally recalling a response) for complex materials like definitions, but both forms of retrieval are equally effective for simple materials like single words.…

Two experiments explored the search for pairs of faces in a disjunctive dual-target face search (DDTFS) task for unfamiliar face targets. The distinctiveness of the target was manipulated such that both faces were typical or distinctive or contained one typical and one distinctive target. Targets were searched for in arrays of eight faces. In…

Prediction error plays a pivotal role in theories of learning, including theories of language acquisition and use. Researchers have investigated whether and under which conditions children, like adults, use prediction to facilitate language comprehension at different levels of linguistic representation. However, many aspects of the reciprocal…

Twenty-first century youth are hungry for new ways to learn. Their world is global, mobile, and rich with opportunities previous generations couldn't possibly have imagined. As they make clear in this book, the old standards of schooling no longer apply. In "Kids on Earth," Howard Blumenthal and Robert C. Pianta go straight to the…

The personalization of curriculum plays a pivotal role in supporting students in achieving their unique learning goals. In recent years, researchers have dedicated efforts to address the challenge of personalizing curriculum through diverse techniques and approaches. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the phenomenon of student forgetting, as…

The author has been influenced throughout his time in mathematics education by the work of Caleb Gattegno. Gattegno made extensive use of the word awareness whereas much educational literature from a psychological perspective talks about memory (for example, Justicia-Galiano, MartÌn-Puga, Linares & Pelegrina, 2017). This has, amongst other…