Optimizing Study Strategies for Better Test Performance
How do different studying approaches affect test performance?
A. John reviews chapter 1 material, then incorporates chapter 2 material, and restudies chapter 1. Michael studies all of chapter 1 and chapter 2 without interruption. How will they each perform if they take a test right after studying? What about 2 days after studying?
Answer:
The correct answer is B. When taking the test right away John may perform slightly worse than Michael but when taking the test 2 days after studying will perform much better than Michael.
John's approach of reviewing and restudying using spaced repetition likely results in better long-term retention and performance two days after studying than Michael's massed practice method.
Studies on the retention of information, such as the work by Hermann Ebbinghaus, indicate that approaches to reviewing and restudying material can greatly affect memory performance over time. The process that John is using, known as spaced repetition, involves revisiting material after some time has passed, which leads to stronger and more durable memory traces in long-term memory. On the other hand, Michael's technique of massed practice, or cramming, may show short-term benefits but typically results in rapid forgetting. Therefore, John, who is interleaving Chapter 1 material with Chapter 2 and then revisiting Chapter 1, is likely to perform better after a delay due to more effective memory consolidation.