The benefits of testing: Individual differences based on student factors

Abstract

• Individual differences in memory strategies influenced the magnitude of the testing effect. • Learners who use more beneficial strategies exhibit a smaller testing effect. • The magnitude of the testing effect is not influenced by leaners’ episodic memory skills. The testing effect, the notion that retrieval practice, compared to restudying information, leads to greater and longer retention, is a robust finding in cognitive science. However, not all learners experience a benefit from retrieval practice. Many manipulations that influence the testing effect have been explored. However, there is still much to learn about potential individual differences. As the testing effect grows in popularity, it is essential to understanding how students’ individual differences and cognitive abilities contribute to the effect. Data from two new pre-registered studies find that variation in what strategies learners use influences the benefit learners receive from retrieval practice, whereas episodic memory skills and general fluid intelligence do not. More specifically, learners who use less beneficial or no memory strategies show a greater benefit of retrieval practice than learners who use helpful memory strategies. Additional analyses combining data sets from 3 previously published papers on individual differences in retrieval practice are included. The results have implications for both existing theories of the mechanisms of the testing effect and for determining how to best incorporate retrieval practice into classroom settings.