How We Learn (33 page)

5
caused mostly confusion
Philip Boswood Ballard,
Obliviscence and Reminiscence
(Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1913).

6
They did worse over time, on average, not better
For more on spontaneous improvements, see Erdelyi,
The Recovery of Unconscious Memories
, 44–71, and W. Brown, “To What Extent Is Memory Measured By a Single Recall?,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
54, 1924, 345–52.

7
their scores plunged
J. A. McGeoch, F. McKinney, and H. N. Peters, “Studies in retroactive inhibition IX: Retroactive inhibition, reproductive inhibition and reminiscence,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
20, 1937, 131–43.

8
twenty-four-hour period
S. Gray, “The Influence of Methodology Upon the Measurement of Reminiscence,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
27, 1940, 37–44.

9
in his history of the era
Erdelyi,
The Recovery of Unconscious Memories
, 44.

10
in other words, a phantom
C. E. Buxton, “The Status of Research in Reminiscence,”
Psychological Bulletin
40, 1943, 313–40.

11
then at Stanford University
Matthew Hugh Erdelyi and Jeff Kleinbard, “Has Ebbinghaus Decayed with Time?: The Growth of Recall (Hypermnesia) over Days,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
, Vol. 4, No. 4, July 1978, 275–89.

12
is largely their baby
Robert A. Bjork and Elizabeth Ligon Bjork, “A New Theory of Disuse and an Old Theory of Stimulus Fluctuation.” In A. Healy, S. Kossly, and R. Shiffrin, eds.,
From Learning Processes to Cognitive Processes: Essays in Honor of William K. Estes, Vol. 2
(Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1992), 35–67.

Chapter Three: Breaking Good Habits

1
guide from Baylor University
Baylor University Academic Support Programs: Keeping Focused,
www.baylor.edu/support_programs
.

2
premier diving destination
For more on shipwrecks in the area, see
www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/uk_scotland_oban.html
.

3
an unusual learning experiment
D. R. Godden and A. D. Baddeley, “Context-Dependent Memory in Two Natural Environments: On Land and Underwater,”
British Journal of Psychology
, Vol. 66, No. 3, 1975, 325–31.

4
two dropped out due to nausea
K. Dallett and S. G. Wilcox, “Contextual Stimuli and Proactive Inhibition,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
78, 1968, 475–80.

5
like some cruel school yard prank
G. Rand and S. Wapner, “Postural Status as a Factor in Memory,”
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
6, 1967, 268–71.

6
twenty feet underwater
K. Dallett and S. G. Wilcox, “Contextual Stimuli and Proactive Inhibition,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
78, 1968, 475–80.

7
original learning is reinstated
Ibid
., 330.

8
as opposed to, say, red
S. G. Dulsky, “The Effect of a Change of Background on Recall and Relearning,”
Journal of Experimental Psychology
18, 1935, 725–40.

9
from a neutral test proctor
E. G. Geiselman and R. A. Bjork, “Primary versus Secondary Rehearsal in Imagined Voices: Differential Effects on Recognition,”
Cognitive Psychology
12, 1980, 188–205.

10
so-called contextual cues
Steven M. Smith, “Background Music and Context-Dependent Memory,”
American Journal of Psychology
, Vol. 98, No. 4, Winter 1985, 591–603.

11
group did the worst
Ibid
., 596.

12
Memory goes
Kay Redfield Jamison,
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
(New York: Random House, 2009), 67.

13
they’re again manic
Herbert Weingartner, Halbert Miller, and Dennis L. Murphy, “Mood-State-Dependent Retrieval of Verbal Associations,”
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
1977, Vol. 86, No. 3, 276–84. This research was originally presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, September 1974, as “State Dependent Recall in Manic Depressive Disorders.”

14
with newly studied information
James Eric Eich, et al, “State-Dependent Accessibility of Retrieval Cues in the Retention of a Categorized List,”
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
14, 1975, 408–17.

15
the time of desired recall
Ibid
., 415.

16
recommended that he go see Luria
For the discussion of Shereshevsky’s memory, I relied on Alexander Luria’s book on the subject,
The Mind of a Mnemonist
(New York: Basic Books, 1968).

17
man twirling his mustache
Ibid
., 31.

18
see what I’ve written
Ibid
., 70.

19
an image of himself looking at the board
Ibid
., 18–19.

20
to answer that question
Steven M. Smith, Arthur Glenberg, and Robert A. Bjork, “Environmental Context and Human Memory,”
Memory & Cognition
, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1978, 342–53.

21
has since gone digital
My discussion of Smith’s recent work comes from unpublished research by Steven M. Smith that he has presented at conferences and shared with me.

22
due position in the room
John Locke,
An Essay on Human Understanding and a Treatise on the Conduct of Understanding
(Philadelphia: Hayes & Zell Publishers, 1854), 263.

Chapter Four: Spacing Out

1
them at a single time
Frank N. Dempster, “The Spacing Effect: A Case Study in the Failure to Apply the Results of Psychological Research,”
American Psychologist
, Vol. 43, No. 8, Aug. 1988, 627–34.

2
became known as Jost’s Law
For more on Jost’s Law, see Dempster,
627–28. A discussion of Jost’s attitude toward eugenics is included in
The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide
by Robert Jay Lifton (New York: Basic Books, 1986).

3
the “Four Bahrick Study,” as they called it—was under way
Harry P. Bahrick, Lorraine E. Bahrick, Audrey S. Bahrick, and Phyllis E. Bahrick, “Maintenance of Foreign Language Vocabulary and the Spacing Effect,”
Psychological Science
, Vol. 4, No. 5, Sept. 1993, 316–21.

4
the James Method
For my understanding of Henry James’s early education, I am grateful for assistance from Greg W. Zacharias, professor of English, and director, Center for Henry James Studies, Creighton University.

5
experience: too much
Gary Wolf, “Want to Remember Everything You’ll Ever Learn? Surrender to This Algorithm,”
Wired
, 16.05,
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/ff_wozniak
.

6
knowledge is still remembered
From the SuperMemo website:
http://www.supermemo.net/how_supermemo_aids_learning
.

7
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wrote
Dempster, 627.

8
first good answer to those questions
N. J. Cepeda, E. Vul, D. Rohrer, J. T. Wixted, and H. Pashler, “Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention,”
Psychological Science
, 19, 2008, 1095–1102. Melody Wiseheart was formerly known as Nicholas Cepeda.

9
Pashler’s group wrote
Ibid
., 1101.

10
wrought into mental structure
William James,
Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals
(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1899), 129.

Chapter Five: The Hidden Value of Ignorance

1
Headmaster’s table
William Manchester,
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory 1874–1932
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1983), 150–51.

2
when your memory fails
Francis Bacon (L. Jardine & M. Silverthorne, translators),
Novum Organum
(Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2000; original work published 1620).

3
need the book once more
William James,
The Principles of Psychology
(New York: Holt, 1890).

4
distinguished Americans
John W. Leonard, ed.,
Who’s Who in America, Vol. 2
(Chicago: A.N. Marquis and Company, 1901).

5
for an experiment
Arthur I. Gates,
Recitation as a Factor in Memorizing
(New York: The Science Press, 1917).

6
about 30 percent
Gates wrote
Ibid
., 45.

7
he cites it in his own
Herbert F. Spitzer, “Studies in Retention,”
The Journal of Educational Psychology
, Vol. 30, No. 9, Dec. 1939, 641–56.

8
measuring achievement of pupils
Ibid
., 655.

9
testing effect, as they called it
Henry Roediger III, and Jeffrey D. Karpicke, “The Power of Testing Memory: Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice,”
Perspectives on Psychological Science
, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2006, 181–210.

10
The Best of Myles
Myles na Gopaleen (Flann O’Brien),
The Best of Myles
(New York: Penguin, 1983), 298–99.

11
other on sea otters
Henry Roediger III, and Jeffrey D. Karpicke, “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention,”
Psychological Science
, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2006, 249–55.

12
slowing down forgetting
Roediger III and Karpicke, “The Power of Testing Memory.” 181–210.

13
remembered the material better later
Elizabeth Ligon Bjork and Nicholas C. Soderstrom, unpublished continuing research.

14
offer a summary, a commentary
Jose Luis Borges, from the preface to
The Garden of Forking Paths
(1942), included in
Collected Fictions
(New York: Penguin, 1998).

Chapter Six: The Upside of Distraction

1
part manifesto
Graham Wallas,
The Art of Thought
(New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1926).

2
presents itself to the mind
Henri Poincaré,
Science and Method
(London: T. Nelson, 1914), 55.

3
hills on a sunny day
Wallas, 80.

4
reached no result
Poincaré, 52.

5
directly aware of it
Wallas, 137.

6
I had only to write out the results
Poincaré, 52.

7
than my own
Wallas, Preface.

8
large room one at a time
Norman R. F. Maier, “Reasoning in Humans. II. The Solution of a Problem and its Appearance in Consciousness,”
Journal of Comparative Psychology
, Vol. 12, No. 2, Aug. 1931, 181–94.

9
“weight to it,”
one said
Ibid
., 188.

10
“puzzle-picture,”
he wrote
Ibid
., 193.

11
dominated consciousness
Ibid
., 187.

12
In a series of experiments
Karl Duncker, “On Problem-Solving,”
Psychological Monographs
, Vol. 58, No. 5, 1945, 1–17.

13
Remote Associates Test, or RAT
Steven M. Smith and Steven E. Blankenship, “Incubation and the Persistence of Fixation in Problem Solving,”
American Journal of Psychology
, Spring 1991, Vol. 104, No. 1, 61–87.

14
block may wear off
Ibid
., 82.

15
conservative meta-analysis
Ut Na Sio and Thomas C. Ormerod, “Does Incubation Enhance Problem Solving? A Meta-Analytic Review,”
Psychological Bulletin
, Vol. 135, No. 1, 94–120.