Familiarity with terms or visuals gives the feeling of understanding — even when that’s not the case. When students encounter familiar concepts or visual cues, they often think: “Oh yes, I know this.” But recognition is not the same as recall or deep understanding. This is a common learning illusion, especially in passive forms of study like watching videos or presentations. Example: A student watches a video for the second time and recognizes the terms. However, during the exam, they’re unable to explain or apply those terms.
Soderstrom, N. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2015). Learning versus performance: An integrative review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 176–199.
Schmidt, R. A., & Bjork, R. A. (1992). New conceptualizations of practice: Common principles in three paradigms suggest new concepts for training. Psychological Science, 3(4), 207–217.
Metcalfe, J. (2002). Is study time allocated selectively to a region of proximal learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131(3), 349–363.