Spacing effect in psychology

  

The spacing effect in psychology is an observed effect of better memory for studied material when learning sessions are separated into several short times separated by breaks (distributed practice) in contrast to a long study session (massed practice).

Also called: the distributed-practice effect

Example

 A student preparing for a French vocabulary test will likely more by studying the French words during brief sessions each day before the test instead of  one long session on one day.

The spacing effect has been demonstrated with a wide range of learning paradigms, materials, and participants, but the precise mechanisms underlying it remain unclear.

There are several theories to explain the reliable finding.

Consolidation theory- new presentations create new representations of the studied items

Deficient processing theory- attention is aroused more in short sessions because the material is presented anew and not residing in memory

Encoding variability theory- Multiple sessions add more context cues stored with the studied material, which improves cognitive pathways to the contents.

Study-phase retrieval theory- when studying again, people notice the item and in effect, practice retrieval

 

 

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

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