Mnemonics, testing, and creativity : creative thinking and effectiveness of learning method
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Northern Kentucky University
Abstract
Much research has been done on various techniques for increasing learning, and both testing and mnemonics such as
the keyword method have been proven effective. We addressed whether people high and low in creativity benefit more
or less from test practice as compared to a mnemonic strategy. We had participants study twenty Lithuanian-English
word pairs. Then participants either restudied the words, received test practice by being given the cue and attempting
to recall the target, generated a mnemonic linking the cue to the target, or received no extra practice with the words.
After a final test over all twenty words, participants completed Remote Association Triad (RAT) problems (Bowden
and Jung-Beeman, 2003) which required participants to find the relationship between three words (e.g., “Cold” is related
to “Sore, Shoulder, Sweat”), and yields an index of creativity. Our hypothesis that the effectiveness of different
study methods would differ across groups failed to achieve significance, and, surprisingly, so did the expected testing
effect. One interesting finding did emerge: higher creativity, as measured by RAT performance, benefited participants
regardless of the method employed in studying.
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Article
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Learning ability, Mnemonics, Learning, Psychology of