Testing the retrieval effort hypothesis: Does greater difficulty correctly recalling information lead to higher levels of memory?

@article{Pyc2009TestingTR,
  title={Testing the retrieval effort hypothesis: Does greater difficulty correctly recalling information lead to higher levels of memory?},
  author={Mary A. Pyc and Katherine A. Rawson},
  journal={Journal of Memory and Language},
  year={2009},
  volume={60},
  pages={437-447}
}
  • M. Pyc, K. Rawson
  • Published 1 May 2009
  • Psychology
  • Journal of Memory and Language
View via Publisher
marypyc.com
409 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
38
Background Citations
201
Methods Citations
52
Results Citations
46

Figures and Tables from this paper

409 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Does Item Difficulty Affect the Magnitude of the Retrieval Practice Effect? An Evaluation of the Retrieval Effort Hypothesis
TLDR
According to the retrieval effort hypothesis (REH), difficult items require more retrieval effort than easier items and, consequently, should benefit more from retrieval practice.
Effects of criterion level on associative memory: Evidence for associative asymmetry
Confidence in accuracy moderates the benefits of retrieval practice
TLDR
In two experiments, the effectiveness of retrieval was affected by subjects’ confidence in their retrieval success, and the retrieval practice only facilitates the retention of correct answers with high confidence.
Retrieval practice enhances the accessibility but not the quality of memory
TLDR
Rec retrieval practice increases the probability of successful memory retrieval but does not improve memory quality, and three experiments using a mixture modeling approach provide a measure of both the probabilities of recall and the quality of the recalled memories.
Repeated retrieval practice and item difficulty: Does criterion learning eliminate item difficulty effects?
TLDR
Although successful retrieval enhanced memory for both difficult and easy items, equating retrieval success during practice did not eliminate normative item difficulty differences.
Examining the episodic context account: does retrieval practice enhance memory for context?
TLDR
The results suggest that the context reinstated during retrieval practice is limited in nature, and aspects of the context that are not essential to retrieval of the item are not strengthened by retrieval practice.
Benefits of Accumulating Versus Diminishing Cues in Recall.
How Retrieval Attempts Affect Learning: A Review and Synthesis
Are judgments of learning made after correct responses during retrieval practice sensitive to lag and criterion level effects?
TLDR
Evaluated the extent to which judgments of learning made after correct responses are sensitive to factors that moderate retrieval practice effects, as well as which cues influence JOLs under these conditions, and indicated that retrieval fluency and metacognitive beliefs about criterion level—but not lag—influenced J OLs.
The role of retrieval mode and retrieval orientation in retrieval practice: insights from comparing recognition memory testing formats and restudying
TLDR
It is confirmed that initial testing promotes later retrieval relative to restudying, and it is suggested that adopting pre-retrieval processing in the forms of retrieval mode and retrieval orientation might contribute to these memory enhancements.
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 22 REFERENCES
Impoverished cue support enhances subsequent retention: Support for the elaborative retrieval explanation of the testing effect
TLDR
It is suggested that an intervening test may be most beneficial to final retention when it provides more potential for elaborative processing.
Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention
What types of learning are enhanced by a cued recall test?
TLDR
In two experiments, subjects experienced either an intervening cued recall test with feedback, or a restudy presentation after initial exposure to a word pair, revealing a benefit for testing as opposed to restudying.
Examining the efficiency of schedules of distributed retrieval practice
TLDR
Results suggest that dropout can be a more efficient learning schedule for students than can conventional schedules of practice, and it was particularly effective for learning initially incorrect items.
Expanding retrieval practice promotes short-term retention, but equally spaced retrieval enhances long-term retention.
TLDR
The authors found that expanding retrieval practice of vocabulary word pairs produced short-term benefits 10 min after learning, conceptually replicating Landauer and Bjork's results, but equally spaced retrieval produced superior retention 2 days later.
When does feedback facilitate learning of words?
TLDR
Supplying the correct answer after an incorrect response not only improved performance during the initial learning session--it also increased final retention by 494% and made little difference either immediately or at a delay, regardless of whether the subject was confident in the response.
The Power of Testing Memory: Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice
TLDR
This article selectively review laboratory studies that reveal the power of testing in improving retention and then turns to studies that demonstrate the basic effects in educational settings, including the related concepts of dynamic testing and formative assessment.
The "Testing" Phenomenon: Not Gone but Nearly Forgotten
The "testing" phenomenon refers to the finding that students who take a test on material between the time they first study and the time they take a final test remember more of the material than…
Metacognition : knowing about knowing
Overlearning and the Feeling of Knowing
Previous research on the feeling of knowing for nonrecalled items has focused on the validity of the feeling of knowing as a predictor for subsequent performance but generally has overlooked the…
...
...