Transitive inference and the testing effect: Retrieval practice impairs transitive inference

Abstract

There is substantial interest in the extent to which the testing effect extends to more complex forms of learning, especially those entailing greater element interactivity. Transitive inference (TI) requires just such interactivity, in which information must be combined across multiple learning elements or premises to extract an underlying structure. Picklesimer et al. (2019) provided preliminary evidence that retrieval practice fails to enhance, and actually disrupts, TI. The current study assessed the generality of that result. The current experiments employed a 7- or 8-element TI paradigm in which participants initially learned a set of premise pairs (e.g., A>B, B>C, C>D, etc.), then engaged in either restudy or retrieval practice of the premise pairs, before taking a final test that assessed memory for the original premise pairs and one’s ability to make transitive inferences (e.g., to infer that B > D). Experiments 1 and 2 used pictorial materials and simultaneous presentation of premises during learning, a form of presentation that has induced testing effects on other forms of inference (Eglington & Kang, 2018). For TI, the results were unchanged from Picklesimer et al. (2019) – TI was worse for retrieval practice than restudy. Experiment 3 used verbal materials and likewise found worse TI for retrieval practice. A small-scale meta-analysis combining the current experiments with those of Picklesimer et al. (2019) revealed a significant negative testing effect on TI (d = -0.37). Although retrieval practice enhances many aspects of memory, this fundamental aspect of human reasoning may be impaired by retrieval practice.