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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory
07:59

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

Published on: June 14, 2019

Why testing improves memory: mediator effectiveness hypothesis.

Mary A Pyc1, Katherine A Rawson

  • 1Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA. mpyc@kent.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|October 16, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Practice tests enhance memory by creating better links between information, according to the mediator effectiveness hypothesis. This finding supports using testing with restudy for improved learning and memory recall.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Memory Research

Background:

  • Practice testing is a known method for improving memory retention.
  • The underlying cognitive mechanisms of testing effects remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms behind testing effects on memory.
  • To propose and evaluate the mediator effectiveness hypothesis.

Main Methods:

  • Foreign language translation learning was used as a model.
  • Participants engaged in either test-restudy practice or restudy-only practice.
  • Mediator effectiveness was assessed by retrieval and target elicitation.

Main Results:

  • Test-restudy practice generated more effective mediators than restudy-only.
  • Mediators formed during test-restudy were more retrievable at the time of test.
  • These mediators were also more successful in eliciting the correct target response.

Conclusions:

  • The mediator effectiveness hypothesis provides a framework for understanding testing effects.
  • Practice involving testing and restudy enhances memory by improving mediator quality.
  • This has implications for designing effective learning strategies.