TY - JOUR
T1 - Is This Going to Be on the Test? Test Expectancy Moderates the Disfluency Effect With Sans Forgetica
AU - Geller, Jason
AU - Peterson, Daniel
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by Grant 220020429 from the James S. McDonnell Foundation awarded to Daniel Peterson. We would like t thank Gene Brewer for their helpful comments on a draft of the article
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Psychological Association
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Presenting information in a perceptually disfluent format sometimes enhances memory. Recent work examining 1 type of perceptual disfluency manipulation, Sans Forgetica typeface, has yielded discrepant findings; some studies find support for the idea that the disfluent typeface improves memory whereas others do not. The current study examined a boundary condition that determines when disfluency is and is not beneficial to learning to explore this discrepancy. Specifically, we investigated whether knowledge about an upcoming test (high test expectancy) versus not (low test expectancy) helps clarify when mnemonic benefits arise for perceptually disfluent stimuli. In Experiment 1 (preregistered, N = 231), we found that Sans Forgetica is a memory-improving desirable difficulty, but only when there was no expectation of a final test. In Experiment 2 (preregistered, N = 232), we conceptually replicated the Sans Forgetica effect using a cued-recall test. In Experiment 3 (preregistered, N = 232), we ruled out a time-on-task explanation while replicating the results of Experiment 2. Though these data provide some evidence of San Forgetica’s mnemonic benefits, caution should be taken in interpreting these results. Not only were the effect sizes moderate, but low test expectancy may not be realistically achievable in actual educational contexts. Though more research is warranted, we echo our prior arguments that students wanting to remember more and forget less should stick to other, more empirically supported desirable difficulties.
AB - Presenting information in a perceptually disfluent format sometimes enhances memory. Recent work examining 1 type of perceptual disfluency manipulation, Sans Forgetica typeface, has yielded discrepant findings; some studies find support for the idea that the disfluent typeface improves memory whereas others do not. The current study examined a boundary condition that determines when disfluency is and is not beneficial to learning to explore this discrepancy. Specifically, we investigated whether knowledge about an upcoming test (high test expectancy) versus not (low test expectancy) helps clarify when mnemonic benefits arise for perceptually disfluent stimuli. In Experiment 1 (preregistered, N = 231), we found that Sans Forgetica is a memory-improving desirable difficulty, but only when there was no expectation of a final test. In Experiment 2 (preregistered, N = 232), we conceptually replicated the Sans Forgetica effect using a cued-recall test. In Experiment 3 (preregistered, N = 232), we ruled out a time-on-task explanation while replicating the results of Experiment 2. Though these data provide some evidence of San Forgetica’s mnemonic benefits, caution should be taken in interpreting these results. Not only were the effect sizes moderate, but low test expectancy may not be realistically achievable in actual educational contexts. Though more research is warranted, we echo our prior arguments that students wanting to remember more and forget less should stick to other, more empirically supported desirable difficulties.
KW - Desirable difficulties
KW - Disfluency
KW - Recall
KW - Recognition
KW - Test expectancy
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U2 - 10.1037/xlm0001042
DO - 10.1037/xlm0001042
M3 - Article
C2 - 34672664
AN - SCOPUS:85119297630
SN - 0278-7393
VL - 47
SP - 1924
EP - 1938
JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
IS - 12
ER -