Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing

Abstract Repeated testing leads to improved long-term memory retention compared to repeated study, but the mechanism underlying this improvement remains controversial. In this work, we test the hypothesis that retrieval practice benefits subsequent recall by reducing competition from related memorie...

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Autores principales:	Nicole S. Rafidi, Justin C. Hulbert, Paula P. Brooks, Kenneth A. Norman
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2018
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/75dd43614716430cb40219e101804701
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:75dd43614716430cb40219e1018047012021-12-02T15:08:15ZReductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing10.1038/s41598-018-29686-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/75dd43614716430cb40219e1018047012018-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29686-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Repeated testing leads to improved long-term memory retention compared to repeated study, but the mechanism underlying this improvement remains controversial. In this work, we test the hypothesis that retrieval practice benefits subsequent recall by reducing competition from related memories. This hypothesis implies that the degree of reduction in competition between retrieval practice attempts should predict subsequent memory for practiced items. To test this prediction, we collected electroencephalography (EEG) data across two sessions. In the first session, participants practiced selectively retrieving exemplars from superordinate semantic categories (high competition), as well as retrieving the names of the superordinate categories from exemplars (low competition). In the second session, participants repeatedly studied and were tested on Swahili-English vocabulary. One week after session two, participants were again tested on the vocabulary. We trained a within-subject classifier on the data from session one to distinguish high and low competition states. We then used this classifier to measure the change in competition across multiple successful retrieval practice attempts in the second session. The degree to which competition decreased for a given vocabulary word predicted whether it was subsequently remembered in the third session. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that repeated testing improves retention by reducing competition.Nicole S. RafidiJustin C. HulbertPaula P. BrooksKenneth A. NormanNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Nicole S. Rafidi Justin C. Hulbert Paula P. Brooks Kenneth A. Norman Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
description	Abstract Repeated testing leads to improved long-term memory retention compared to repeated study, but the mechanism underlying this improvement remains controversial. In this work, we test the hypothesis that retrieval practice benefits subsequent recall by reducing competition from related memories. This hypothesis implies that the degree of reduction in competition between retrieval practice attempts should predict subsequent memory for practiced items. To test this prediction, we collected electroencephalography (EEG) data across two sessions. In the first session, participants practiced selectively retrieving exemplars from superordinate semantic categories (high competition), as well as retrieving the names of the superordinate categories from exemplars (low competition). In the second session, participants repeatedly studied and were tested on Swahili-English vocabulary. One week after session two, participants were again tested on the vocabulary. We trained a within-subject classifier on the data from session one to distinguish high and low competition states. We then used this classifier to measure the change in competition across multiple successful retrieval practice attempts in the second session. The degree to which competition decreased for a given vocabulary word predicted whether it was subsequently remembered in the third session. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that repeated testing improves retention by reducing competition.
format	article
author	Nicole S. Rafidi Justin C. Hulbert Paula P. Brooks Kenneth A. Norman
author_facet	Nicole S. Rafidi Justin C. Hulbert Paula P. Brooks Kenneth A. Norman
author_sort	Nicole S. Rafidi
title	Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
title_short	Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
title_full	Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
title_fullStr	Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
title_full_unstemmed	Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing
title_sort	reductions in retrieval competition predict the benefit of repeated testing
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/75dd43614716430cb40219e101804701
work_keys_str_mv	AT nicolesrafidi reductionsinretrievalcompetitionpredictthebenefitofrepeatedtesting AT justinchulbert reductionsinretrievalcompetitionpredictthebenefitofrepeatedtesting AT paulapbrooks reductionsinretrievalcompetitionpredictthebenefitofrepeatedtesting AT kennethanorman reductionsinretrievalcompetitionpredictthebenefitofrepeatedtesting
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Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing

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