This Perspective article expands on a working memory-dependent dual-process model, originally proposed by Zheng et al., to elucidate individual differences in the testing effect. This model posits that the testing effect comprises two processes: retrieval-attempt and post-retrieval re-encoding. We substantiate this model with empirical evidence…

Conditioned fear memories that are context-specific shortly after conditioning generalize over time. We exposed rats to a context reminder 30 d after conditioning, which served to reinstate context-specificity, and investigated how this reminder alters retrieval-induced activity in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (aCC) relative to a…

This paper looks at the history of listening strategies development from the first studies on strategies used by L2 learners to the most current studies specific to L2 listening, and how this theory can be incorporated into classroom teaching that fosters practice, not testing. This paper also examines the type of needs analysis and diagnostic…

How can students' forgetting be reduced? The spacing effect--a promising strategy from the field of cognitive psychology--might hold some of the answers. Research has demonstrated that information is remembered two to three times better if study sessions are spaced in time rather than massed together. The testing effect is another research-based…

Reports an error in "Testing during study insulates against the buildup of proactive interference" by Karl K. Szpunar, Kathleen B. McDermott and Henry L. Roediger III ("Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition," 2008[Nov], Vol 34[6], 1392-1399). Incorrect figures were printed due to an error in the…

Two different methods of practice are available in the learning of simple information, test practice or study practice. Of these two methods of learning, research has generally shown that test practice is superior to study practice. However, this research has not considered the testing advantage with respect to the fact that test learning is…

Recent data (T. J. Perfect, C. J. A. Moulin, M. A. Conway, & E. Perry, 2002) have suggested that retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) depends on conceptual memory because the effect is not found in perceptually driven tasks. In 3 experiments, the authors aimed to show that the presence of RIF depends on whether the procedure induces appropriate…

Our research on learning enhancement has been focusing on the consequences for learning and forgetting of some of the more obvious and concrete choices that arise in instruction, including: How does spacing of practice affect retention of information over significant retention intervals (up to two years)? Do spacing effects generalize beyond…

This article reports an error concerning the article "Directed Forgetting in Incidental Learning and Recognition Testing: Support for a Two-Factor Account" by Lili Sahakyan and Peter F. Delaney ("Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition," Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 789-801). The article was misidentified in the July issue as an…

A computerized assessment battery was developed to determine memory impairment in head-injured individuals, using an interactive video system, consisting of a videodisc player, microcomputer, and video display. Subtests measure reaction time; reaction time with distractors; recall of object locations, grocery list, and names/faces; telephone use;…

A cross-cultural educational research study involving 12,500 students in 13 countries is described, with particular emphasis on one aspect of geographic literacy--place vocabulary skills. Place vocabulary is defined as that component of vocabulary that is concerned with places which are proper nouns and capitalized to show their importance. The…

Three empirical studies concerning reflective and rote learning in Finnish schools are described. In the first, a questionnaire given to school beginners reveals that during their first 12 weeks of school the children's estimates of the excitement and pleasure of learning and their conception of the role of understanding in learning decrease. The…

Michael's Informal Test of Student Ability (MITOSA) is a diagnostic evaluative tool for adult students designed to test nine skills abilities in adult students functioning below a tenth grade level. The nine test sections are approximate reading level, understanding of basic math concepts and symbols, general thinking/reasoning ability, eye-hand…