The Effect of Overlearning on Long-Term Retention
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2005
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1083
Abstract
Once material has been learned to a criterion of one perfect trial, further study within the same session constitutes overlearning. Although overlearning is a popular learning strategy, its effect on long‐term retention is unclear. In two experiments presented here, 218 college students learned geography facts (Experiment 1) or word definitions (Experiment 2). The degree of learning was manipulated and measured via multiple test‐with‐feedback trials, and participants returned for a final cued recall test between 1 and 9 weeks later. The overlearners recalled far more than the low learners at the 1‐week test, but this difference decreased dramatically thereafter. These data suggest that overlearning (and its concomitant demand for additional study time) is an inefficient strategy for learning material for meaningfully long periods of time.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Applied Cognitive Psychology, v. 19, issue 3, p. 361-374
Scholar Commons Citation
Rohrer, Doug; Taylor, Kelli; Pashler, Harold; Wixted, John T.; and Cepeda, Nicholas J., "The Effect of Overlearning on Long-Term Retention" (2005). Psychology Faculty Publications. 1772.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1772
