Effects of successive relearning on recall: Does relearning override the effects of initial learning criterion?

Abstract

Retrieval practice improves memory for many kinds of materials, and numerous factors moderate the benefits of retrieval practice, including the amount of successful retrieval practice (referred to as the learning criterion). In general, the benefits of retrieval practice are greater with more than with less successful retrieval practice; however, learning items to a higher (vs. lower) criterion requires more time and effort. If students plan on relearning material in a subsequent study session, does the benefit of learning to a higher criterion during an initial session persist? In Session 1, participants studied and successfully recalled Swahili-English word pairs one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven times. In subsequent sessions, all of the pairs were relearned to a criterion of one correct recall at one-week intervals across four or five successive relearning sessions. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that the substantial benefits of learning to a higher initial criterion during the first session do not persist across relearning sessions. This relearning-override effect was also demonstrated in Experiment 2 after a one-month retention interval. The implications of relearning-override effects are important for theory and for education. For theories of test-enhanced learning, they support the predictions of one theory and appear inconsistent with the predictions of another. For education, if relearning is to occur, using extra time to learn to a higher initial learning criterion is not efficient. Instead, students should devote their time to subsequent spaced relearning sessions, which produce substantial gains in recall performance.