The Seductive "Solution" Button

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herky010

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  1. Attending Physician
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As much as I wish it would be there on the real MCAT, the solution button is causing me a lot of anxiety on the AAMC MCAT practice exams. After every answer choice I want to click the solution button real bad.
On one hand, it provides instant feedback to your answer choice, so you are still "in the moment" when reviewing and learning from your mistake (or success) but on the other, it can be distracting and real tempting if you are stuck on a particularly hard question...😎
I know disabling it is an option...what do you all think?
 
For me it depends on why i am taking the test, if i am doing it under testing conditions, ie all sections in a row, timed, no distractions, then i do not enable the solutions button. But because i have 18 practice tests available, ive been doing one section at a time just for practice problems, not to simulate a real test and i have found that using the solutions button is very helpful because i can compare their reasoning with my reasoning. sometimes when i go back and review i forget why i chose certain answers so using the solutions tool helps in that aspect.
 
I was told that it's important to refrain from seeing the solution as long as possible even when you have no clue after 5 minutes because this stimulates your thought process and makes you start thinking about the various possibilities to answering the question. Also, by doing this, you practice the general way of thinking that helps to eliminate your weaknesses by figuring out what you already know and then eventually what you should know after seeing the explanations. So, after making an attempt at a question by thinking it through and then seeing that your answer is wrong, you can change the way you think afterwards. If the problem is in an idea that you forgot (weakness) then you can identify this and then work on studying that area more. This is what I'm basically doing... but yea it's soooo seductive! arggg~ :laugh:
 
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