Stop Practicing? The Surprising Power of Reflection to Master Anything
Psych 🧠- 416/500
Reader,
"Practice makes perfect," right? Well, maybe not.
This paper shakes things up by looking at whether taking time to think about what you've learned is even better than just doing more.
Get ready for some brain-bending insights!
What is it?
This study explores the idea that reflecting on past experiences enhances learning more than simply accumulating more experience.
It examines the conditions under which reflection is most beneficial, including the level of familiarity with a task and the way individuals reflect (articulation vs. codification).
Key Findings:
Reflecting on experience does boost performance compared to just practicing more.
However, the effectiveness of reflection depends on the type of task and the amount of prior experience. For simpler tasks, mere articulation (thinking about it) suffices, while more complex tasks benefit from codification (writing it down).
Reflection is most helpful at the beginning of the learning curve, when the base knowledge exists.
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What do I need to know:
Taking time for reflection can lead to performance and mastery.
The type of reflection and the stage of learning influence the effectiveness of reflection.
Don't just keep grinding—take time to pause, think, and refine your approach!
Source:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2414478 (UNDER REVIEW)