The benefits of errorless learning in mild cognitive impairment
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- DClinPsy, School of Psychology
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Abstract
The aim of this thesis was to explore the benefits of errorless learning (EL) in comparison to learning by trial-and-error or errorful learning (EF) for people with mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI). The literature review was a meta-analysis of studies which compared EL and EF in neurodegenerative conditions, specifically mild cognitive impairment (MCI)and other dementias. Across the ten reviewed studies there was a moderate effect size for the benefit of EL over EF learning for people with MCI and dementia. Results were tentative as six of the reviewed studies had non-significant effect sizes which may have reflected small sample sizes or methodological issues, or indicate that EL may not be any more advantageous than EF for some individuals. Given that only three studies were identified in the review which explored EL with MCI participants, it seemed appropriate to explore the benefit of EL further with this population. The empirical study describes the results of an experimental study conducted with eleven participants with a clinical diagnosis of MCI. A word-list learning task was used and outcome was assessed by free recall, cued recall and recognition tasks. The findings of the empirical study showed that EL was not significantly superior to EF when undertaking a word-list task for PwMCI. A relationship was found between errormonitoring ability and the difference between EL and EF conditions. It was recommended that future research explore the role of error-monitoring further. A concluding discussion chapter focusses on the implications of these findings for future research and theory development as well as implications for clinical practice. Limitations of the thesis are considered and a concluding paragraph offers a personal reflection on the process of conducting this research.
Details
Original language | English |
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Award date | 9 Sept 2013 |