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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 29, 2025

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
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Spacing learning units affects both learning and forgetting.

Jürgen Kornmeier1, Zrinka Sosic-Vasic2, Ellen Joos3

  • 1Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg; Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany.

Trends in Neuroscience and Education
|March 19, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Optimal learning occurs with spaced intervals, particularly around 8 hours. Shorter or longer gaps, like 7.5 minutes, lead to more forgetting, demonstrating the significant spacing effect on memory retention.

Keywords:
Distributed-practice effectForgettingLag effectLearningSpacing effectTesting effect

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The spacing effect, where learning is enhanced by distributing study sessions over time, is well-documented across various timescales.
  • Previous research highlighted significant spacing effects with 12-hour intervals.
  • This study investigates optimal spacing intervals around 12 hours and their impact on learning and forgetting.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine learning performance with spacing intervals near 12 hours.
  • To analyze the relationship between spacing intervals and both initial learning and subsequent forgetting.
  • To identify practical, easily integrated spacing intervals for effective learning.

Main Methods:

  • 102 participants learned 40 German-Japanese vocabulary pairs.
  • Spacing intervals included 7.5 minutes, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours.
  • Two retention tests were conducted after 24 hours and 7 days.

Main Results:

  • The 7.5-minute interval showed a faster initial learning curve.
  • Minimal forgetting (around 13% or less) was observed after 24 hours and 7 days for intervals between 4 and 12 hours.
  • The 7.5-minute interval resulted in significantly more forgetting (34%) after 7 days.

Conclusions:

  • Spacing intervals of approximately 8 hours ± 4 hours (i.e., 4 to 12 hours) yield high learning performance and minimal forgetting.
  • These optimal intervals are practical for daily scheduling.
  • The spacing effect is robust, but intervals too short or too long can negatively impact long-term retention.