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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 6, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

Voluntary attention and the spacing effect.

D L Hintzman¹, J J Summers, N T Eki

¹Psychology Department, University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, Oregon.

Memory & Cognition

|November 9, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The spacing effect in memory is not caused by subjects voluntarily paying less attention to repeated items. Experiments show attention allocation does not influence how item spacing affects memory recall.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

The spacing effect describes improved memory recall when learning is spread out over time.
A proposed explanation suggests subjects voluntarily reduce attention to items presented closely together.
This study investigates the role of attention in the spacing effect.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the hypothesis that the spacing effect stems from reduced voluntary attention to repeated items.
To determine if manipulating attention influences the spacing effect.
To provide empirical evidence regarding the attention-based explanation of the spacing effect.

Main Methods:

Three experiments manipulated the spacing of item repetitions (P1, P2, P3).
Attention was manipulated through payoff signals (Experiment I) and overt rehearsal (Experiment II).
Eye fixations were measured as an indicator of attention in Experiment III.

Main Results:

Attention manipulation did not interact with the spacing of repetitions in Experiments I and II.
The number of eye fixations decreased from P1 to P2 to P3 but was unaffected by spacing in Experiment III.
Judged frequency was the primary dependent variable across experiments.

Conclusions:

The findings do not support the hypothesis that the spacing effect is due to voluntary attention reduction.
Reduced attention to closely spaced items is unlikely to be the primary mechanism behind the spacing effect.
Alternative explanations for the spacing effect warrant further investigation.