ERIC Number: EJ1056014
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Jul
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
The Negative Testing Effect and Multifactor Account
Peterson, Daniel J.; Mulligan, Neil W.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v39 n4 p1287-1293 Jul 2013
Across 3 experiments, we investigated the factors that dictate when taking a test improves subsequent memory performance (the "testing effect"). In Experiment 1, participants retrieving a set of targets during a retrieval practice phase ultimately recalled fewer of those targets compared with a group of participants who studied the targets twice, a "negative" testing effect. In Experiments 2 and 3, theoretically motivated modifications to the basic design of Experiment 1 reversed this pattern, demonstrating the more typical positive testing effect. The results from all 3 experiments were predicted by the multifactor account, an explanatory account applied to the "generation effect" (improved memory for self-generated material), which details why generation typically improves memory, as well as those conditions under which generation can impair memory performance. These results suggest the testing effect and the generation effect may be understood within a common framework.
Descriptors: Memory, Experimental Psychology, Tests, Recall (Psychology), Comparative Analysis, Effect Size, Undergraduate Students, Cues, Word Lists, Rhyme, Cognitive Processes, Testing, Interference (Learning)
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A