The testing effect for mediator final test cues and related final test cues in online and laboratory experiments.

Leonora C Coppens,Samantha Bouwmeester,Peter P J L Verkoeijen,Remy M J P Rikers

doi:10.1186/s40359-016-0127-2

Leonora C Coppens, Samantha Bouwmeester + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-016-0127-2

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Abstract

BackgroundThe testing effect is the finding that information that is retrieved during learning is more often correctly retrieved on a final test than information that is restudied. According to the semantic mediator hypothesis the testing effect arises because retrieval practice of cue-target pairs (mother-child) activates semantically related mediators (father) more than restudying. Hence, the mediator-target (father-child) association should be stronger for retrieved than restudied pairs. Indeed, Carpenter (2011) found a larger testing effect when participants received mediators (father) than when they received target-related words (birth) as final test cues.MethodsThe present study started as an attempt to test an alternative account of Carpenter’s results. However, it turned into a series of conceptual (Experiment 1) and direct (Experiment 2 and 3) replications conducted with online samples. The results of these online replications were compared with those of similar existing laboratory experiments through small-scale meta-analyses.ResultsThe results showed that (1) the magnitude of the raw mediator testing effect advantage is comparable for online and laboratory experiments, (2) in both online and laboratory experiments the magnitude of the raw mediator testing effect advantage is smaller than in Carpenter’s original experiment, and (3) the testing effect for related cues varies considerably between online experiments.ConclusionsThe variability in the testing effect for related cues in online experiments could point toward moderators of the related cue short-term testing effect. The raw mediator testing effect advantage is smaller than in Carpenter’s original experiment.

Highlights

The testing effect is the finding that information that is retrieved during learning is more often correctly retrieved on a final test than information that is restudied
To make sure the working conditions of the Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers resembled those of participants in the laboratory as much as possible we only included those participants in the subsequent analyses who scored 1 or 2 on the last question (i.e., “I was distracted during the experiment”)
To make sure the working conditions of the MTurk workers resembled those of participants in the lab as much as possible, we only included those participants in the subsequent analyses who scored 1 or 2 on the last question (i.e., “I was distracted during the experiment”)

Summary

Introduction

The testing effect is the finding that information that is retrieved during learning is more often correctly retrieved on a final test than information that is restudied. According to the semantic mediator hypothesis the testing effect arises because retrieval practice of cue-target pairs (mother-child) activates semantically related mediators (father) more than restudying. Carpenter (2011) found a larger testing effect when participants received mediators (father) than when they received target-related words (birth) as final test cues. Carpenter [11] noted that the elaborative retrieval hypothesis was not specific about what related information is activated during retrieval practice. To address this issue, she turned to the mediator effectiveness hypothesis put forward by Pyc and Rawson [12, 13]. The semantic mediator hypothesis predicts that the link between the semantic mediator father and the target child will be stronger after retrieval practice than after restudying

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