The Benefits and Costs of Editing and Reviewing Photos of One’s Experiences on Subsequent Memory

AUTHORS: LINDA A. HENKEL & ANNA MILLIKEN

Modern technology allows people to easily doctor their own photos (e.g., cropping out unwanted objects, applying color-changing filters). We examined whether editing and reviewing photos alters people’s memory of their experiences. In three experiments, participants photographed scenes, then edited their photos. Cropping objects from photos focused attention on the remaining objects, thereby increasing memory for the intact objects regardless of whether they were reviewed or not. Applying a grayscale filter to photos did not impact memory for the color and content of the original scene, but reviewing photos improved recognition memory and memory for the scene’s color and content. The findings suggest that depending on the type of editing and its corresponding output and cognitive demands, reviewing or editing photos can shape what is remembered.

Motivational Strategies to Engage Learners in Desirable Difficulties

AUTHORS: CRISTINA D. ZEPEDA, RACHEL S. MARTIN & ANDREW C. BUTLER

Learning strategies that create “desirable difficulties” by slowing or hindering improvement during learning often produce superior long-term retention and transfer. Yet many learners choose not to use the learning strategies and/or disengage when they are implemented by a teacher. To identify ways to help students engage with learning strategies that produce desirable difficulties, this article reviews five areas of psychological research on motivation that provide strategies for increasing engagement and persistence: finding value, reducing cost, reframing appraisals and attributions, creating appropriate challenges, and providing choice. Looking forward, there is a clear need for empirical work to investigate and theoretical frameworks to explain the interplay between motivation and learning strategies that create desirable difficulties.

Pretesting Reduces Mind Wandering and Enhances Learning During Online Lectures

AUTHORS: STEVEN C. PAN, FARIA SANA, ALEXANDRA G. SCHMITT & ELIZABETH LIGON BJORK

Although online lectures have become increasingly popular, their effectiveness at promoting learning can be attenuated by mind wandering (shifts in attention away from the task at hand towards unrelated thoughts). We investigated whether taking tests on to-be-studied information, also known as pretesting, could mitigate this problem and promote learning. In two experiments, participants viewed a video-recorded online lecture that was paired with a pretest activity (answering questions about the lecture) or a control activity (solving algebra problems). Taking pretests reduced mind wandering and improved performance on a subsequent test compared to the control condition, regardless of whether pretests were interspersed throughout the lecture or administered at the beginning of the lecture. These findings demonstrate that online lectures can be proactively structured to reduce mind wandering and improve learning via the incorporation of pretests.

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