Practice testing enhances learning but not attitude change from persuasive texts.
Elena M Galeano Weber1, Lisa Lehnen2, Doug Lombardi3
1DIPF|Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, and IDeA Research Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk, Rostocker Str. 6, 60323, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. e.galeano-weber@dipf.de.
Scientific Reports
|September 25, 2025
Summary
Practice testing improves knowledge retention from persuasive texts but does not consistently increase attitude change. Retrieval-based learning aids memory but may not directly alter beliefs without other factors.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Persuasive texts aim to change attitudes by imparting knowledge.
- Practice testing (retrieval practice) is known to enhance learning and memory.
- The impact of practice testing on attitude change following exposure to persuasive content is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if practice testing enhances learning from persuasive texts.
- To determine if practice testing influences attitude change after reading persuasive material.
- To explore the relationship between knowledge acquisition and attitude shifts.
Main Methods:
- Two online experiments were conducted with participants reading texts on biodiversity loss or wolf recolonization.
- Participants were assigned to pretesting (retrieving before reading), posttesting (retrieving after reading), or a no-testing control group.
- Knowledge retention and attitude changes were measured after text exposure.
Main Results:
- Both pretesting and posttesting significantly improved knowledge retention compared to the no-testing group.
- Attitudes shifted in the direction of the persuasive texts across all conditions.
- Neither pretesting nor posttesting resulted in greater attitude change than the control condition.
Conclusions:
- Practice testing effectively enhances knowledge acquisition from persuasive texts.
- Practice testing does not reliably amplify attitude change, suggesting other factors are involved in belief revision.
- A link between knowledge and attitude was observed in the pretesting group, hinting at potential indirect effects on persuasion.
Keywords:
Attitude changeKnowledge acquisitionPersuasive textsPractice testingPretestingRetrieval PracticeMore Related Videos
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