Cited by 296Memory Processes and InfluencesSecond Language Acquisition and LearningVisual and Cognitive Learning Processes

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 70 of the 71 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 12 of the 36 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Optimizing distributed practice

Open access

Abstract

More than a century of research shows that increasing the gap between study episodes using the same material can enhance retention, yet little is known about how this so-called distributed practice effect unfolds over nontrivial periods. In two three-session laboratory studies, we examined the effects of gap on retention of foreign vocabulary, facts, and names of visual objects, with test delays up to 6 months. An optimal gap improved final recall by up to 150%. Both studies demonstrated nonmonotonic gap effects: Increases in gap caused test accuracy to initially sharply increase and then gradually decline. These results provide new constraints on theories of spacing and confirm the importance of cumulative reviews to promote retention over meaningful time periods.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1027/1618-3169.56.4.236

Cites

70 of 70 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

32 Own result · 18 Own interpretation · 13 Own method · 9 No basis given · 7 Partly supported · 4 Sources not found · 3 No full text of the sources · 2 Couldn’t confirm · 2 Not checked yet · 1 Supported · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 54 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 27
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 15
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
37 of 37
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The laboratory materials and tasks used in the studies are educationally relevant and representative of real-world learning.

    “The material was again educationally relevant: Not-well-known facts and names of unfamiliar visually presented objects.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The test delays used (10 days and 6 months) are educationally meaningful.

    “when the retention interval was educationally meaningful.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The distributed practice effects observed in these laboratory tasks generalize to real-world educational contexts.

    “confirm the importance of cumulative reviews to promote retention over meaningful time periods”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The material chosen for Experiment 2 produces lesser rates of forgetting than Swahili-English word pairs.

    “we chose material that was shown to produce lesser rates of forgetting.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The facts and objects used in Experiment 2 are not well-known to the subjects.

    “a list of 23 notwell-known facts was assembled”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The simulated classroom setting is representative of actual classroom learning.

    “The experiment was conducted in a simulated classroom setting in a windowless room.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The quadratic-in-log-gap function is an adequate description of the relationship between gap and final test score, despite not being theoretically motivated.

    “Although this function is not theoretically motivated, its parameters are meaningful.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The findings will generalize to classroom settings, at least for learning 'cut and dry' material.

    “If these findings generalize to a classroom setting -and we expect they will, at least with regard to learning”
8 of 8

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • ConsistentF(5, 176) = 3.7reported p < .005 · recomputed p = .003

    “F(5,176) = 3.7, p < .005”

  • ConsistentF(1, 155) = 254.9reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1,155) = 254.9,p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 155) = 10.3reported p < .005 · recomputed p = .002

    “F(1,155) = 10.3, p < .005”

  • ConsistentF(5, 155) = 8.3reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(5,155) = 8.3, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 155) = 502.2reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1,155) = 502.2,p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(5, 155) = 4.6reported p < .005 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(5,155) = 4.6, p < .005”

  • ConsistentF(5, 155) = 4.9reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(5,155) = 4.9, p < .001”

7 of 7

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 71 references

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Dempster F. N., 1993, Journal of Instructional Psychology, 20, 197
  2. Jost A., 1897, Zeitschrift für Psychologie und Physiologie der Sinnesorgane, 14, 436
  3. Moss V. D., 1995, Dissertation Abstracts International, 56, 5204
  4. Murray J. T., 1983, Dissertation Abstracts International, 43, 3058
  5. Smith P. L., 1999, Instructional design
  6. Strong E. C., 1973, Dissertation Abstracts International, 33, 4615
  7. Welborn E. L., 1933, I. U. School of Education Bulletin, 10, 12

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Cepeda, N. J., Coburn, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., Mozer, M. C., & Pashler, H.
Affiliations
  • York University (CA)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • University of South Florida (US)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
Venue
Experimental Psychology
Published
2009-01
Volume
56
Issue
4
Pages
236-246
ISSN
  • 0949-3964 (ISSN-L)
  • 1618-3169
  • 2190-5142
OpenAlex
W1527475029
Cited by
296
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 12
FWCI
5.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0542013, 0720375)
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • Institute of Education Sciences
  • University of California, San Diego
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
Keywords
distributed practice, spacing effect, retention, foreign words, factual memory, object naming, long-term recall
MeSH terms
Attention, Humans, Memory, Short-Term, Paired-Associate Learning, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Practice, Psychological, Reading, Retention, Psychology, Speech Perception, Vocabulary, Multilingualism, Feedback, Psychological

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

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