Abstract
The delay-retention effect describes improved memory when corrective feedback is postponed by a few seconds. This phenomenon has been demonstrated almost exclusively in non-gamified laboratory tasks. It remains unknown whether a short feedback delay confers any advantage within a gamified learning environment, where game elements such as points, timers, and sounds already engage motivational processes. The present study examined this question using a within-subjects design. Thirty-four participants completed a gamified online quiz that required logical reasoning from novel premises. On each trial, corrective feedback appeared either immediately after the response or following a 10-second delay. Accuracy on the second presentation of each question, reaction time, and learning gains did not differ between the two timing conditions (all *p* > .05, negligible effect sizes). An exploratory comparison with a separate non-gamified control group that received no feedback revealed a performance advantage for the gamified condition. However, that comparison confounds the presence of gamification with the presence of feedback, so the specific source of the advantage cannot be determined. These findings indicate that a 10-second feedback delay does not enhance short-term recall in an already motivating gamified setting. The results challenge the generalizability of the delay-retention effect and suggest that gamification and brief feedback delays may engage overlapping cognitive processes.
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