Toward cross-disciplinary translation of the testing effect: A systematic replication.

Abstract

The testing effect is a well-established phenomenon in cognitive psychology that refers to enhanced long-term retention of information due to active recalling through testing. Following a cross-disciplinary translation of the testing effect into behavioral principles, we systematically replicated the previous findings in a behavior-analytic context while evaluating the effects of the number of quiz questions on college students' exam performance and other academic behaviors. Students in an upper-level behavior analysis course participated. Using a within-subject experimental design in which the participants served as their own control, we compared their exam performance and academic behaviors, such as class participation and out-of-class studying, across three conditions: (a) no quizzes, (b) 5-question quizzes, and (c) 10-question quizzes. Quizzes improved exam performance and some academic behaviors, successfully replicating the testing effect in a behavior-analytic context. However, the number of quiz questions did not influence the improvements. Implications of the results and future research are discussed.