Reading Comprehension · Question 28 · Easy
What does the passage call the 'spacing effect'?
Students preparing for placement tests often spend the night before an exam reading the same notes again and again. The method feels productive, because the material becomes familiar, but familiarity is not the same as memory. Psychologists have shown for more than a century that information is retained far better when study sessions are spread out over several days than when they are crammed into one long sitting. This is known as the spacing effect. A related finding is that testing oneself, by trying to recall an answer before looking it up, strengthens memory more than rereading does, even when the attempt fails. The effort of retrieval seems to signal to the brain that the information is worth keeping. Why, then, do so many learners continue to cram? Part of the answer is that spaced practice feels harder. Each session begins with the uncomfortable discovery of how much has been forgotten, and that discomfort is easily mistaken for a sign that the method is not working. Cramming, by contrast, produces a pleasant sense of mastery that lasts just long enough to mislead.
- Better retention when study is spread over several days
- Leaving space between lines while taking notes
- Studying for one long sitting before an exam
- Forgetting information soon after an exam
Answer and explanation
Answer: A. Better retention when study is spread over several days
Explanation: The passage defines the spacing effect as information being retained far better when study sessions are spread out over days than when crammed into one sitting.
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