Spacing Study Effect

1240 Words5 Pages

Understanding the Spacing Effect: An Article Review Studying is an important aspect in any academic career, and as such, developing effective studying techniques and strategies are important for academic success. One particular strategy is the spacing effect which says avoid cramming for an exam last minute and instead space the studying over multiple small sessions. DO I HAVE TO CITE THIS?? It is believed that studying with short breaks in between is beneficial because the knowledge is better encoded into long term memory and that the forgetting that happens during breaks in studying may motivate an individual to re-learn the material and enhance their encoding of the material with later study sessions. Also, it is considered a desirable difficulty, which means that it enhances long term memory which outweighs the difficulty of the task (Susser & McCabe, 2012). With this knowledge, Susser and McCabe (2012) wanted to determine if undergraduates were aware of spaced studying technique and if it was being utilized in …show more content…

If this was the case, then the results may lead to the false conclusion that people believe that spaced studying is more beneficial than massed studying and that people will use this technique in an idealistic setting. This can limit the generalizability of the results. To avoid this, it would be beneficial to use a naturalistic observation method so that researchers can actually observe people and their choice of studying method (Susser & McCabe, 2012). Another weakness of this study is that mostly females were used in the sample of participants. This can limit the generalizability of the findings because females may study differently than men. If so, it can skew the results and lead to false conclusions. To avoid this, one could replicate the study but with a sample that is made up of more men, and compare the