Testing the testing effect with advanced materials while accounting for individual differences

Abstract

Retrieval practice benefits long-term memory performance in a variety of contexts, but its usefulness for retention of more advanced material is less clear. Additionally, evidence of the role of individual differences in retrieval strategy use is mixed. Such evidence is important to determine the usefulness of particular retrieval strategies as a function of cognitive processes, affective characteristics, and aspects of to-be-learned material. With a sample of undergraduate participants (n = 213), we examined how combining testing strategies (free recall, practice quizzing, and test question generation) could impact learning of a published research article compared to rereading, and how cognitive load, self-efficacy, and working memory capacity influenced these relationships. Although retrieval practice activities did not improve final test performance over rereading, the role of some individual differences varied as a function of assigned strategy. Compared to rereading, using retrieval practice increased cognitive load. Cognitive load then mediated the relationship between assigned strategy and retrieval performance, with higher cognitive load associated with lower final test scores. These results suggest that the memorial benefits of retrieval practice might be limited by cognitive load requirements.