How And Why Retrieving Memory In Advance Induces Pretesting Effect

As one of many theories of memory psychology, information processing theory made up of four types of processes:encoding, consolidation, storage and retrieval. Especially, retrieval was one of importance process. Nowadays, it is a hot spot in cognitive psychology how to retrieve effectively information and to keep enduringly and effectively memory retention. These existing studies of testing effect or retrieval practice have shown that retrieval can keep play a key role in memory retention. Recent researches suggested that not only retrieval practice after learning or test benefited long-term memory retention, but also pretest before learning benefited short-term memory retention that is so-called pretest effect. Recent researches have proved repeatedly that pretest can boost memory retention. In other words, it proved the existence of pretest effect. However, how will experiment material, feedback and test interval affect memory retention in the study of pretest effect which is not clear? The mechanism of pretest effect still is in the exploratory stage. This study based on those questions, we explored how and why retrieving memory in advance induces pretesting effect. This study consisted of three serial experiments. In experiment1, we examined the mechanism of pretest effect when the experiment material was word pairs. Based on experiment one, experiment two examined the mechanism of pretest effect in different feedback timing. The third experiment was based on experiment one and two. In experiment3, through manipulating test interval, we analyzed the different between immediate feedback and delayed feedback on the study of pretest test in final test. We explored further how and why retrieving memory in advance induces pretesting effect.Through the research, we drew the following several conclusions.Firstly, the search set theory not only illustrated that the mechanism of pretest effect when the experiment material was word pairs, but also showed that the mechanism of pretest effect in different feedback timing on short-term memory.Secondly, through manipulating test interval, the mechanism of pretest effect has changed. The search set theory explained how and why pretest can enhance learning under the condition of immediate feedback learning. However, desirable difficulties theory illustrated the mechanism of pretest effect.Finally, feedback affected the students’ judgment. Subjects estimated more accurately for pretest than for restudy under the condition of delay feedback learning, which indicated that it was possible that both pretest effect and test effect was similar in of judgment of learning.