Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3180, USA.
J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2009 Nov;35(6):1563-9. doi: 10.1037/a0017021.
The current study explored the elaborative retrieval hypothesis as an explanation for the testing effect: the tendency for a memory test to enhance retention more than restudying. In particular, the retrieval process during testing may activate elaborative information related to the target response, thereby increasing the chances that activation of any of this information will facilitate later retrieval of the target. In a test of this view, participants learned cue-target pairs, which were strongly associated (e.g., Toast: Bread) or weakly associated (e.g., Basket: Bread), through either a cued recall test (Toast: _____) or a restudy opportunity (Toast: Bread). A final test requiring free recall of the targets revealed that tested items were retained better than restudied items, and although strong cues facilitated recall of tested items initially, items recalled from weak cues were retained better over time, such that this advantage was eliminated or reversed at the time of the final test. Restudied items were retained at similar rates on the final test regardless of the strength of the cue-target relationship. These results indicate that the activation of elaborative information-which would occur to a greater extent during testing than restudying--may be one mechanism that underlies the testing effect.
本研究探讨了精细提取假说（elaborative retrieval hypothesis）作为测试效应的解释：测试比重新学习更能增强记忆保留的倾向。具体来说，测试过程中的提取过程可能会激活与目标反应相关的精细信息，从而增加任何此类信息的激活都将有助于以后目标检索的机会。在这种观点的测试中，参与者通过线索回忆测试（Toast: Bread）或重新学习机会（Toast: Bread）学习强关联（例如，Toast: Bread）或弱关联（例如，Basket: Bread）的线索-目标对。最后需要自由回忆目标的测试表明，测试过的项目比重新学习的项目保留得更好，尽管强线索最初有助于测试项目的回忆，但随着时间的推移，从弱线索中回忆出的项目保留得更好，以至于在最后一次测试时，这种优势被消除或逆转。重新学习的项目在最后一次测试中的保留率相似，而不管线索-目标关系的强弱如何。这些结果表明，精细信息的激活——在测试中比重新学习时更广泛地发生——可能是测试效应的一个机制。
