A dual memory theory of the testing effect

Abstract

A new theoretical framework for the testing effect-the finding that retrieval practice is usually more effective for learning than are other strategies-is proposed, the empirically supported tenet of which is that separate memories form as a consequence of study and test events. A simplest case quantitative model is derived from that framework for the case of cued recall. With no free parameters, that model predicts both proportion correct in the test condition and the magnitude of the testing effect across 10 experiments conducted in our laboratory, experiments that varied with respect to material type, retention interval, and performance in the restudy condition. The model also provides the first quantitative accounts of (a) the testing effect as a function of performance in the restudy condition, (b) the upper bound magnitude of the testing effect, (c) the effect of correct answer feedback, (d) the testing effect as a function of retention interval for the cases of feedback and no feedback, and (e) the effect of prior learning method on subsequent learning through testing. Candidate accounts of several other core phenomena in the literature, including test-potentiated learning, recognition versus cued recall training effects, cued versus free recall final test effects, and other select transfer effects, are also proposed. Future prospects and relations to other theories are discussed.

Conditions of highly specific learning through cued recall

“…This paradigm thus compares the effects of cued recall tests versus restudying on memory. The testing effect for cued recall is robust; in their theoretical review, Rickard and Pan (2017) found that 96% of 114 experiments exhibited testenhanced learning on the final test.…”

“…Specifically, their data suggest that test memory in that case is functionally an inclusive-OR gate, such that the memory can be accessed on a later final test only if the originally presented cues, or a proper subset of them, are represented and the required response is the same. Introduction of the hypothesized inclusive-OR gate into Rickard and Pan's (2017) dual-memory model of the testing effect (wherein study and test events are assumed to create separate episodic memories) allowed that model to capture not only the general learning specificity effect but also the finding over multiple experiments of equivalent performance in the tested-different and restudy conditions (e.g., the results shown in Fig. 2).…”

Reconsidering the role of assessments in undergraduate medical education

“…gives rise to a number of subsequent research questions, the most obvious of which concern what exactly happens in students’ brains when they are tested on material and how repeated testing enhances higher‐order cognitive skills other than mere recall. Recently, the set of mechanisms potentially underlying the direct testing effect was complemented by a ‘dual memory’ theory which proposes that restudying and retesting events form separate memories . If this holds true, it would be interesting to investigate the structure of the information that is being stored using TEL as it appears to allow for application of knowledge rather than just reproduction of facts.…”

Effects of repeated retrieval on keyword mediator use: shifting to direct retrieval predicts better learning outcomes

“…Ultimately, repeated retrieval may produce decontextualisation "wherein items become more retrievable but are no longer only associated with a specific context (e.g., the original study context)" (Lehman et al, 2014, p. 259; cf. also the dual memory theory, Rickard & Pan, 2018).…”

“…Similarly, keyword mediators might eventually not be needed anymore when form-meaning associations become increasingly decontextualised and independent of the original encoding context (i.e., the keyword). A compatible theory from the retrieval practice literature, the dual memory theory (Rickard & Pan, 2018), proposes that while learners initially form a study memory during the encoding of items, retrieval practice leads to a second type of memory, test memory, which critically involves the formation of an association from the cue (e.g., foreign word) to the response (e.g., translation). The dual memory theory explains the shift from initially keywordmediated retrieval to direct retrieval with the idea that test memory becomes the primary route for retrieval after multiple retrieval events (Rickard & Pan, 2018).…”