Pretesting and Learning: How Individual Differences Impact Fact Integration and Recall

What is it about?

How can we help people learn new information effectively? One method is pretesting—having learners answer questions before they study. Pretesting is known to improve recall of facts, but it’s less clear how well it helps with tasks that require combining and manipulating information. In our first three experiments, we found that pretests did boost these more complex memory processes, but the effect diminished when we considered individual differences in verbal comprehension. In a final experiment focused on learning simple facts, the pretest benefit remained strong, even after accounting for verbal comprehension.

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Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The results highlight the need to consider individual differences when developing strategies to improve learning and show that pretesting may have limits when it comes to learning beyond simple recall.