The name game: acceptability, bonus information and group size

Abstract

Our previous research demonstrated the effectiveness of the name game when learning the names of group members. In three experiments we conclude our study of the name game by demonstrating that it is very acceptable to participants and successful with larger groups. Experiment 1 compared the simple and elaborate name games. In the latter, participants learned a word provided by each person in addition to their full name. This 'bonus' information was very well learned without detriment to the name learning. Participants rated both versions of the name game as a good use of time and worth playing again although the elaborate name game was rated as more fun. Experiments 2 and 3 used the name game with groups of around 25, finding very good recall of full names. The role of retrieval in the effectiveness of the name game was again demonstrated to be essential.

Application of the testing and spacing effects to name learning

“…tested items (M ¼ 0.20, SD ¼ 0.12) than studied items (M ¼ 0. The testing advantages observed in Experiments 1a and 1b are consistent with the results of previous studies on testing effects in name learning (see Landauer & Bjork, 1978;Morris & Fritz, 2000, 2002Morris et al, 2004). The present findings also extend on past results in showing that testing effects hold (a) for the learning of face-name stimulusresponse pairs when faces serve as the only cues for corresponding names, and (b) under carefully controlled laboratory conditions that disentangled study and test conditions.…”

“…Landauer and Bjork's (1978) research on the testing effect in name learning was not constrained to face-name stimulus-response pairs, such that retrieval could have been supported by face-name associations or name-name associations. Other studies by Morris and colleagues used a protocol in which tested items were given additional study opportunities in addition to being tested (Morris & Fritz, 2000, 2002Morris et al, 2004). The present experiments, on the other hand, focused on the learning of face-name stimulus-response pairs while disentangling testing from additional study opportunities.…”

Strategies for learning proper names: expanding retrieval practice, meaning and imagery

“…Re-presentation, even with the same expanding schedule, proved to be a poorer technique for acquiring the names. These experiments add to the growing body of evidence that expanding retrieval practice is a powerful technique that could be adapted to many learning situations (Cull et al, 1996;Landauer & Bjork, 1978;Morris et al, 2004;Morris & Fritz, 2000, 2002. It requires relatively little creativity on the part of the learner, and less effort than techniques that demand the creation of interactive images.…”

Expanding retrieval practice: An effective aid to preschool children's learning

“…The use of an expanding schedule can apparently help to build confidence by repeatedly eliciting successful performance, even after a noticeable delay. Although adults are typically less candid than young children, our anecdotal experience with students playing the Name Game, a retrieval-based technique with an expanding schedule (Morris & Fritz, 2000, 2002Morris, Fritz, & Buck, 2004) is similar. Well-constructed schedules of retrieval practice could benefit learners through improving their motivation and their metacognitive skills; this hypothesis is a potentially rich area for further research.…”