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memory
You fix mistakes faster when you feel certain.
Participants were more likely to correct an error if they were 'highly confident' that the wrong answer was actually correct.
This is the hyper-correction effect. When you are highly confident, the surprise of being wrong triggers a deeper cognitive engagement with the correct information. You do not just learn the right answer; you store it more securely because the feedback violates your expectation.
Being wrong is the best way to be right.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Butterfield and Metcalfe, 2001, Journal of Experimental Psychology
- What the check found
- The hyper-correction effect is a well-documented psychological phenomenon established by Butterfield and Metcalfe (2001). The claim accurately summarizes the effect, though it is not found in the provided reference text.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.