After learning, subjects are asked, "how much do you remember after a week?"

The people in the onetime learning group answered 70%, the repeated learning group answered 80%, the recalling group answered 60%. Those in the recalling group is the least confident right after the learning.

Despite the low confidence, the correct answer rate of the test is the highest. This misunderstanding is interesting. Only the people in the recalling group underestimate their correct answer rate. The other groups without testing overestimate their correct answer rate.

Fig: Not confident but the score is high

Vertical axis means the correct answer rate

People in the recalling group lose their confidence by the test. By testing, they see the fact that they did not remember what they feel remembered.

On the other hand, input-only people have no opportunity to lose confidence, have no chance to know what they did not remember.

It is interesting that the subjective feeling of remembering and the objective test result is the opposite. We can not trust our feelings.

Some people think that it is bad to make a wrong answer, or they are afraid to make a wrong answer. However, if you make a wrong answer in the early stage of learning, it gives you information about what to focus. It eventually leads to a good score. A wrong answer brings a good result. If you experience this as yourself, the fear of making a wrong answer diminishes. When you made a wrong answer, you have a positive feeling that you get a chance to learn.