PSYC 1000 Chapter 8-12

Spacing Effect

The principle that learning is improved when study time is distributed over spaced intervals rather than massed into a single session.

Within-Session Spacing

Deliberately inserting short breaks between repetitions of material during one study session to boost retention.

Between-Session Spacing

Scheduling multiple study sessions over days or weeks, with longer gaps between them, to strengthen long-term memory.

Lag Effect

The finding that longer intervals (lags) between study sessions yield better long-term retention than shorter intervals.

Consolidation

The neurological process that stabilizes newly learned information into durable long-term memory after initial acquisition.

Testing Effect

The enhancement of learning that occurs when information is actively retrieved through testing rather than merely restudied.

Proactive Interference

When previously learned information disrupts the recall of new information, leading to forgetting.

Retrieval Failure

An inability to access a stored memory at a given moment despite it being learned and retained.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic technique that links items to be remembered with specific locations in a familiar spatial layout.

Collaborative Inhibition

The phenomenon in which people recalling together as a group produce fewer correct memories than the combined output of individuals working separately.