Summary Of Benedict Carey Mind Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

In the article, “MIND; Forget What you Know About Good Study Habits,” written by Benedict Carey, addresses how one can become better at studying. The purpose of this article is not to shame the cookie-cutter idealism of studying methods, such as secluding yourself in a quiet area, but to shine a light on more efficient study habits that are supported by evidence. Therefore, the belief that one person can only learn by visual or auditory, “left-brain” or “right-brain,” has no evidence to prove it to be true. In fact, according to a review in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, “a team of psychologist found almost zero support for such ideas”. However, despite the lack of evidence towards different ways of obtaining information, there are four possible study habits that have been proven to work. With that said, by alternating study environments, mixing content, spacing study sessions, or self-testing, have been proven to be efficient study methods.

To explain, it has been proven that by studying in one location and then moving to another will help to retain or learn new information. According to the article, Carey explains that, “In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologist found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms… did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice in the same room”. With that said, by doing something as simple as changing your environment throughout your studying process, would help increase your chances of obtaining information. This could be explained because when you study, not only are you focused on obtaining information of what your studying, but you are also aware of your surroundings. By changing your location, forces the brain into learning the material in different