title: Memory and metacognition for piano melodies: illusory advantages of fixed- over random-order practice.
abstract: Some learning schedules can foster an illusion of competence, whereby the learner feels that the skill will be retained better than it actually will be. Consider fixed-order practice, in which a person practices a task repeatedly before switching to the next task (e.g., task order A, A, B, B); in contrast, in random-order practice, a person randomly alternates among two or more tasks (e.g., task order C, D, D, C). In the present experiment, participants (n = 25) who had formal training in piano practiced melodies under fixed- or random-order conditions (within-subjects), and then returned for a retention test 2 days later. Initially, the participants performed faster on melodies practiced in a fixed-order. However, on a retention test 2 days later, participants were faster with melodies from the random-order condition. Despite the within-subjects design, which facilitated the comparison of practice conditions, participants' metacognitive judgments indicated an illusion of competence, whereby they erroneously believed that fixed-order practice would result in faster retention performance. Our results suggest that even some trained musicians may use ease of acquisition as a heuristic for predicting future performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA.
authors.forename: Branden
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abushanab
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bishara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012649:Self Concept; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult