Reductions in Retrieval Competition Predict the Benefit of Repeated Testing.

ABSTRACT: Repeated testing leads to improved long-term memory retention compared to repeated study, but the mechanism underlying this improvement remains controversial. In this work, we test the hypothesis that retrieval practice benefits subsequent recall by reducing competition from related memories. This hypothesis implies that the degree of reduction in competition between retrieval practice attempts should predict subsequent memory for practiced items. To test this prediction, we collected electroencephalography (EEG) data across two sessions. In the first session, participants practiced selectively retrieving exemplars from superordinate semantic categories (high competition), as well as retrieving the names of the superordinate categories from exemplars (low competition). In the second sessio

SUBMITTER: Rafidi NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6078947 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature