Forgetting versus facilitation: the fate of nontested information in the testing effect

Abstract

The testing effect is an established memory phenomenon that demonstrates that retrieval enhances memory relative to restudying. Testing effects can be both direct and indirect. One example of an indirect effect of testing is retrieval-induced forgetting (RIFO), in which taking a test on a subset of information can actually impair recall of related, but nontested information. Recent research has also demonstrated retrieval-induced facilitation (RIFA), the opposite pattern, in which testing on a subset of information enhances memory for related but non-tested information. The present study sought to determine the key factors that determine whether the indirect testing effects on nontested information takes the form of forgetting versus facilitation. Both experiments examined memory for cue-target pairs and vary whether the final test is a cued recall test or a free recall test. Experiment 1 did so for category-exemplar pairs, in which each category cue was paired with several category exemplars, and varied the retention interval as well. Experiment 2 used a construction in which cue words were paired with multiple, unrelated targets. While the results of Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis that a free recall final test would elicit a facilitative indirect testing effect and a cued recall final test would elicit a forgetting effect, Experiment 2 did not follow this pattern. While we are able to draw some conclusions about how certain parameters (e.g. final test type) can aid the presence of either effect, additional avenues should be pursued.