The relationship between different forms of retrieval practice and perceived mental effort, and how this relates to the performance of learners

Abstract

Testing has been established as an effective strategy for facilitating learning. However, most learners are not aware of its benefits. Research often shows that test formats have different effects on learning and memory (a.k.a. the testing effect). This can be explained by the effortful retrieval hypothesis. This hypothesis states that more effortful and difficult retrieval during learning improves one’s performance. Difficult successful retrievals require more mental effort, which results in enhanced memory. It is generally assumed that different test formats yield different levels of effort. Nevertheless, only one study tested the effortful retrieval hypothesis and compared perceived mental effort on different test formats using a between-subject design. Unfortunately, this study did not find any differences between the conditions in perceived mental effort during the learning phase and retention after one week. For this reason, the present study tested the effortful retrieval hypothesis and compared perceived mental effort on different test formats using a within-subject design. Results of the present study show that retrieval practice is a superior strategy of learning in comparison to restudy. Furthermore, mental effort with regard to the different learning conditions differs free recall yields the highest mental effort, followed by cued recall, followed by recognition during learning.