Abstract
A traditional control group yoked to a group that self-selects their feedback schedule receives feedback on the same number of trials and on the same trials as the self-selected group. This yoked group demonstrates inferior learning compared to the self-selected group. Although the groups are matched for the amount of feedback, information is provided on trials where the yoked individual might not request feedback and also not receive feedback on trials where it would be a learning experience. Subsequently, this leads to a decrement in retention. This study examined the learning of a 6-component serial response task for a yoked group with the same absolute amount of feedback opportunities, but who self-selected their schedule. The yoked with self-selection group was predicted to have a higher level of retention than the traditional yoked group because of the conceptual link between feedback and learning opportunities. The traditional yoked group had significantly a higher AE than the yoked self-selected group in the first block of acquisition. In retention, the yoked self-selected group committed a significantly lower number of errors than both the traditional yoked and self-selected groups. The current results suggest that a yoked self-selected group can produce efficient learning effects and can be a viable control group for future studies.
