Title

Self-generated retrievals while multitasking improve memory for names

Authors

Elizabeth Helder, Augustana College - Sioux Falls
John J. Shaughnessey, Hope CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2011

Publication Source

Memory

Volume Number

19

Issue Number

8

First Page

968

Last Page

974

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

ISSN

0965-8211

Abstract

We used a translational research paradigm to investigate whether distributed retrievals could benefit name learning in social situations. Undergraduates (N = 64) were trained to generate distributed retrievals while they were multitasking. Students learned to generate distributed retrievals according to either an expanding or a uniform schedule. Their self-generated distributed retrievals while they were multitasking were effective in improving name recall for both retrieval schedules. The increase with self-generated retrievals while multitasking was greater (η² = .76) than the increase that Helder and Shaughnessy (2008) found with experimenter-controlled retrievals while multitasking (η² = .42). These findings provide evidence that the beneficial effect of distributed retrievals can extend to learning names in a social situation.

Keywords

Name learning, Distributed retrieval, Retrieval practice

Recommended Citation

Published in: Memory, Volume 19, Issue 8, November 1, 2011, pages 968-974. Copyright © 2011 Taylor & Francis, London. The final published version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2011.626426