{"title":"Self-reference promotes vocabulary learning in a foreign language.","authors":"Shimon Pruss, Avi Karni, Anat Prior","doi":"10.3758/s13423-025-02674-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Encoding information in reference to the self leads to improved memory, a phenomenon termed the self-reference effect. Learning vocabulary in a foreign language (L2) is a challenging memory task, because learning thousands of words is necessary to achieve listening and reading comprehension. The current study examined the efficacy of self-reference encoding for L2 vocabulary learning. In Experiment 1, native Hebrew speakers learned rare English words with a self-reference task and a control condition of translation repetition. In Experiment 2, participants learned with the same self-reference task and a control task of semantic processing. Across both experiments, memory was higher in the self-reference condition in both an immediate and a delayed test one week later. Thus, self-reference might be adopted as a learning tool in L2 vocabulary learning. Further, we demonstrate the contribution of self-reference to learning new information, going beyond previous demonstration of its positive impact on episodic encoding of known information.</p>","PeriodicalId":20763,"journal":{"name":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02674-w","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Encoding information in reference to the self leads to improved memory, a phenomenon termed the self-reference effect. Learning vocabulary in a foreign language (L2) is a challenging memory task, because learning thousands of words is necessary to achieve listening and reading comprehension. The current study examined the efficacy of self-reference encoding for L2 vocabulary learning. In Experiment 1, native Hebrew speakers learned rare English words with a self-reference task and a control condition of translation repetition. In Experiment 2, participants learned with the same self-reference task and a control task of semantic processing. Across both experiments, memory was higher in the self-reference condition in both an immediate and a delayed test one week later. Thus, self-reference might be adopted as a learning tool in L2 vocabulary learning. Further, we demonstrate the contribution of self-reference to learning new information, going beyond previous demonstration of its positive impact on episodic encoding of known information.
期刊介绍:
The journal provides coverage spanning a broad spectrum of topics in all areas of experimental psychology. The journal is primarily dedicated to the publication of theory and review articles and brief reports of outstanding experimental work. Areas of coverage include cognitive psychology broadly construed, including but not limited to action, perception, & attention, language, learning & memory, reasoning & decision making, and social cognition. We welcome submissions that approach these issues from a variety of perspectives such as behavioral measurements, comparative psychology, development, evolutionary psychology, genetics, neuroscience, and quantitative/computational modeling. We particularly encourage integrative research that crosses traditional content and methodological boundaries.