The effect of looking up information on learning and long-term memory

Retrieval is a potent method of learning, with a variety of indirect and direct benefits. The testing effect describes the finding that retrieving information enhances long-term retention of that information, relative to restudying. Learners appear to be unaware of this benefit, and in turn, underutilize retrieval. As technology has made a vast amount of information more accessible, it has created an environment that disincentivizes retrieval from memory. The current studies examine the relationship between lookup behavior, and later memory for the material. Chapter 2 examines how the imposition of an external access cost influences lookup behavior and memory, when such behavior is disincentivized by making the act of looking information up more perceptually difficult (Experiment 2), or by decreasing the responsiveness of the lookup device (Experiment 1, 3, and 4). Chapter 3 examines the role that memory self-efficacy has on lookup behavior and memory. In Experiment 5, participants are given false feedback about their performance on a prior memory test. In additional analyses based on the data from Experiments 3 and 4, I directly correlate measures of memory self-efficacy with lookup behavior and memory. An access cost reduced lookup behavior, independent of the type of cost (Experiments 1 and 2), but did not affect lookup behavior when the access cost was manipulated within-subjects (Experiment 4), or when the size of the cost was unpredictable (Experiment 3). Importantly, in all of the conditions in which lookup behavior was successfully discouraged by an access cost, memory was enhanced. More lookup behavior was associated with better memory, even after controlling for memory self-efficacy (Experiment 3 and 4). In addition, higher memory self-efficacy was strongly associated with memory (Experiment 3), a result that is likely due to the greater influence of memory self-efficacy on tasks in which participants have more control over their learning. The difficulty of manipulating memory self-efficacy and lookup behavior is discussed