2-8 How can psychological principles help you learn and remember?

Do you, like most students, assume that the way to cement your new learning is to reread? What helps even more—and what this book therefore encourages—is repeated self-testing and rehearsal of previously studied material. Memory researchers Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke (2006) call this phenomenon the testing effect. (It is also sometimes called the retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.) They note that “testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.” In one of their studies, students recalled the meaning of 40 previously learned Swahili words much better if tested repeatedly than if they spent the same time restudying the words (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). Across many other studies, including in college classrooms, frequent quizzing and self-testing has boosted students’ retention (Pennebaker et al., 2013; Rowland, 2014).

As you will see in the Memory modules, to master information you must actively process it. Your mind is not like your stomach, something to be filled passively; it is more like a muscle that grows stronger with exercise. Countless experiments reveal that people learn and remember best when they put material in their own words, rehearse it, and then retrieve and review it again.

The SQ3R study method incorporates these principles (McDaniel et al., 2009; Robinson, 1970). SQ3R is an acronym for its five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve,⁴ Review.

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To study a module, first survey, taking a bird’s-eye view. Scan the headings, and notice how the module is organized.

Before you read each main section, try to answer its numbered Learning Objective Question (for this section: “How can psychological principles help you learn and remember?”). Roediger and Bridgid Finn (2009) have found that “trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.” Those who test their understanding before reading, and discover what they don’t yet know, will learn and remember better.

Then read, actively searching for the answer to the question. At each sitting, read only as much of the module (usually a single main section) as you can absorb without tiring. Read actively and critically. Ask questions. Take notes. Make the ideas your own: How does what you’ve read relate to your own life? Does it support or challenge your assumptions? How convincing is the evidence?

Having read a section, retrieve its main ideas. “Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning,” says Karpicke (2012). So test yourself. This will help you figure out what you know. Moreover, the testing itself will help you learn and retain the information more effectively. Even better, test yourself repeatedly. To facilitate this, we offer periodic Retrieve It opportunities throughout each module (see, for example, the questions in this module). After trying to answer these questions yourself, you can check the answers, and reread as needed.

Finally, review: Read over any notes you have taken, again with an eye on the module’s organization, and quickly review the whole module. Write or say what a concept is before rereading to check your understanding.

Survey, question, read, retrieve, review. We have organized this book’s modules to facilitate your use of the SQ3R study system. Each module begins with an outline that aids your survey. Headings and Learning Objective Questions suggest issues and concepts you should consider as you read. The material is organized into sections of readable length. The Retrieve It questions will challenge you to retrieve what you have learned, and thus better remember it. The end-of-section Review includes the collected Learning Objective Questions and key terms for self-testing. Additional self-test questions in a variety of formats appear together, organized by section, at the end of each module, with answers available once question has been answered.

Four additional study tips may further boost your learning:

Distribute your study time. One of psychology’s oldest findings is that spaced practice promotes better retention than does massed practice. You’ll remember material better if you space your practice time over several study periods—perhaps one hour a day, six days a week—rather than cram it into one week-long (or all night) study blitz. For example, rather than trying to read an entire module in a single sitting, read just one main section and then turn to something else. Interleaving your study of psychology with your study of other subjects will boost your long-term retention and will protect against overconfidence (Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Taylor & Rohrer, 2010).

Spacing your study sessions requires a disciplined approach to managing your time. Richard O. Straub explains time management in a helpful preface at the beginning of this text.

Learn to think critically. Whether you are reading or in class, note people’s assumptions and values. What perspective or bias underlies an argument? Evaluate evidence. Is it anecdotal? Or is it based on informative experiments? Assess conclusions. Are there alternative explanations?

Process class information actively. Listen for a lecture’s main ideas and sub-ideas. Write them down. Ask questions during and after class. In class, as in your private study, process the information actively and you will understand and retain it better. As psychologist William James urged a century ago, “No reception without reaction, no impression without … expression.” Make the information your own. Take notes in your own words. Relate what you read to what you already know. Tell someone else about it. (As any teacher will confirm, to teach is to remember.)

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Overlearn. Psychology tells us that overlearning improves retention. We are prone to overestimating how much we know. You may understand a module as you read it, but that feeling of familiarity can be deceptively comforting. Using the Retrieve It opportunities, carve out study time for testing your knowledge.

Memory experts Elizabeth Bjork and Robert Bjork (2011, p. 63) offer the bottom line for how to improve your retention and your grades:

Spend less time on the input side and more time on the output side, such as summarizing what you have read from memory or getting together with friends and asking each other questions. Any activities that involve testing yourself—that is, activities that require you to retrieve or generate information, rather than just representing information to yourself—will make your learning both more durable and flexible.