Benefits from retrieval practice are greater for students with lower working memory capacity

Memory ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 764-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pooja K. Agarwal ◽  
Jason R. Finley ◽  
Nathan S. Rose ◽  
Henry L. Roediger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity

scholarly journals The forward testing effect is reliable and independent of learners’ working memory capacity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Pastötter ◽  
Christian Frings
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Testing Effect ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

The forward testing effect refers to the finding that retrieval practice of previously studied information enhances learning and retention of subsequently studied other information. While most of the previous research on the forward testing effect examined group differences, the present study took an individual differences approach to investigate this effect. Experiment 1 examined whether the forward effect has test-retest reliability between two experimental sessions. Experiment 2 investigated whether the effect is related to participants’ working memory capacity. In both experiments (and each session of Experiment 1), participants studied three lists of items in anticipation of a final cumulative recall test. In the testing condition, participants were tested immediately on lists 1 and 2, whereas in the restudy condition, they restudied lists 1 and 2. In both conditions, participants were tested immediately on list 3. On the group level, the results of both experiments demonstrated a forward testing effect, with interim testing of lists 1 and 2 enhancing immediate recall of list 3. On the individual level, the results of Experiment 1 showed that the forward effect on list 3 recall has moderate test-retest reliability between two experimental sessions. In addition, the results of Experiment 2 showed that the forward effect on list 3 recall does not depend on participants’ working memory capacity. These findings suggest that the forward testing effect is reliable at the individual level and affects learners at a wide range of working memory capacities alike. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

The Testing Effect and Its Relation to Working Memory Capacity and Personality Characteristics

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frida Bertilsson ◽  
Carola Wiklund-Hörnqvist ◽  
Tova Stenlund ◽  
Bert Jonsson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Retention Interval ◽  
Testing Effect ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Within Subjects

Retrieval practice is known to lead to better retention of a to-be-learned material than restudy (i.e., the testing effect). However, few studies have investigated retrieval practice in relation to working memory capacity (WMC) and personality characteristics such as grittiness (Grit) and need for cognition (NFC). In two experiments, we examined retrieval practice and restudy of Swahili–Swedish word pairs in relation to individual differences in Grit and NFC. In Experiment 1, using a between-subjects design, a significant main effect of retention interval was qualified by a Group × Retention Interval interaction. However, there were no effects of Grit or NFC. In Experiment 2, a within-subjects design was used, and a measure of WMC was included. The analyses revealed a testing effect; but again, WMC, Grit, and NFC were not significantly associated with performance. These results indicate that retrieval practice levels out the playing field regarding WMC, NFC, and Grit.

scholarly journals Retrieval Practice: Beneficial for All Students or Moderated by Individual Differences?

2020 ◽  
pp. 147572572097349
Author(s):  
Frida Bertilsson ◽  
Tova Stenlund ◽  
Carola Wiklund-Hörnqvist ◽  
Bert Jonsson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Testing Effect ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Learning Technique

Retrieval practice is a learning technique that is known to produce enhanced long-term memory retention when compared to several other techniques. This difference in learning outcome is commonly called “the testing effect”. Yet there is little research on how individual differences in personality traits and working memory capacity moderate the size of the retrieval-practice benefits. The current study is a conceptual replication of a previous study, further investigating whether the testing effect is sensitive to individual differences in the personality traits Grit and Need for Cognition, and working memory capacity. Using a within-subjects design ( N = 151), participants practiced 60 Swahili–Swedish word pairs (e.g., adhama–honor) through retrieval practice and re-studying. Learning was assessed at three time points: five minutes, one week, and four weeks after practice. The results revealed a significant testing effect at all three time points. Further, the results showed no association between the testing effect and the personality traits, or between the testing effect and working memory, at any time point. To conclude, retrieval practice seems to be a learning technique that is not moderated by individual differences in these specific personality traits or with working memory capacity, thus possibly beneficial for all students.

Differential Effects of Executive Processes on Working Memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-249
Author(s):  
Xuezhu Ren ◽  
Tengfei Wang ◽  
Karl Schweizer ◽  
Jing Guo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Prepotent Response ◽  
Two Measures

Abstract. Although attention control accounts for a unique portion of the variance in working memory capacity (WMC), the way in which attention control contributes to WMC has not been thoroughly specified. The current work focused on fractionating attention control into distinctly different executive processes and examined to what extent key processes of attention control including updating, shifting, and prepotent response inhibition were related to WMC and whether these relations were different. A number of 216 university students completed experimental tasks of attention control and two measures of WMC. Latent variable analyses were employed for separating and modeling each process and their effects on WMC. The results showed that both the accuracy of updating and shifting were substantially related to WMC while the link from the accuracy of inhibition to WMC was insignificant; on the other hand, only the speed of shifting had a moderate effect on WMC while neither the speed of updating nor the speed of inhibition showed significant effect on WMC. The results suggest that these key processes of attention control exhibit differential effects on individual differences in WMC. The approach that combined experimental manipulations and statistical modeling constitutes a promising way of investigating cognitive processes.

Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys ◽  
Niki Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Monty Hall Dilemma ◽  
Monty Hall ◽  
Memory Resources

Abstract. The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is an intriguing example of the discrepancy between people’s intuitions and normative reasoning. This study examines whether the notorious difficulty of the MHD is associated with limitations in working memory resources. Experiment 1 and 2 examined the link between MHD reasoning and working memory capacity. Experiment 3 tested the role of working memory experimentally by burdening the executive resources with a secondary task. Results showed that participants who solved the MHD correctly had a significantly higher working memory capacity than erroneous responders. Correct responding also decreased under secondary task load. Findings indicate that working memory capacity plays a key role in overcoming salient intuitions and selecting the correct switching response during MHD reasoning.

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