Effects of Immediate versus Delayed Feedback on Error Detection Accuracy in a Quality Control Simulation

Abstract

A computer simulation was developed to examine the effects of immediate versus delayed visual feedback on the accuracy of identifying errors (signals) in sample stimuli. In a self-paced computer tutorial, subjects learned to identify particular aberrations in a schematic diagram of a hard disk drive. During experimental sessions, subjects were exposed to a series of 200 samples presented four at a time sequentially on a computer screen, and were required to indicate with a computer mouse whether or not each sample drive contained a signal. Accuracy of signal detection was assessed under four experimental conditions: (1) self-paced, immediate feedback, in which the pace of stimulus presentations was controlled by the subject and the cumulative percentage of correct responses was displayed on the computer screen immediately following each quality control response, (2) self-paced, delayed feedback, in which feedback was displayed only at the end of the session (following completion of the 200th quality control response), (3) machine paced immediate feedback, in which the computer program determined the rate at which sample stimuli were presented, and (4) machine-paced, delayed feedback. The accuracy of signal detection, from greatest to least, occurred under the (a) self-paced, immediate feedback condition, (b) self-paced, delayed feedback, (c) machine-paced, immediate feedback, and (d) machine-paced, delayed feedback conditions.