Pearson 1

Chase Pearson
Karen Kwan
Psychology 1010-25
March 28th 2011

Studying Techniques
As I have come to learn through personal experiences, the most effective way to study
material is to rehearse the mind and memory with constant repetition. This may especially help
me with my studies as I have the tendency to often procrastinate assignments leaving little to no
time for review. Another technique I am interested in trying is the chunking of acronyms and the
use of mnemonic devices. Not personally having ever relied on it, I will use this technique and
see how well it benefits me.
To test the efficiency of these strategies I will use this psychology class as a foundation,
comparing my previous study guide and test scores with those achieved after using the study
techniques of repetition and mnemonic devices. As a simple score will not be enough I will
mentally compare my understanding of the material with previous chapters as well and
determine if the memory has been encoded.
The past study guides and quiz scores (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, 8,) will represent the
independent variable since I attempted them without the study techniques. The dependent
variable will be the score I received on study guides and quizzes for which the techniques have
been used. I am expecting at least a 2 point average score increase on future quiz scores.

Pearson 2

Repeated study is to review an already learned topic continuously over an extended

amount of time. Recapping on the same information will help us retain it by a phenomenon
known as the spacing effect. This is why when I attempt to cram due to procrastination I forget
most of what I have learned in the following days. New memories are weak; exercise them and
they will strengthen. Speed-reading complex material-with minimal rehearsal- yields little
retentionTo learn a concept, provide yourself with many separate study sessions(Myers,
2009, p.287).
Mnemonic techniques are often used to remember unfamiliar material, such as the order
of color in the wavelength of a rainbow, which can be remembered by using the mnemonic ROY
G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Separating knowledge into
categories, or hierarchies can also help us retrieve information efficientlyif you can master a
chapters concepts with overall organization, your recall should be effective at test time (Myers,
2009, p.265). Many of us often take chunking of familiar information for granted, but it is an
essential part of our short and long term memory.
Not surprisingly, how I implemented the technique of repetition was with repeated study.
It was perhaps not so much going over the same topics constantly as analyzing areas I did not
previously understand. Before when I studied there would be entire sections I would skip simply
because they did not strike me as important. Unfortunately when that section appeared on a quiz
I would have trouble answering the question. Although the rehearsal has helped me, I believe
that the effort to make more time to focus on the material and bettered my studying.
While I did not include it one of my study methods, I found that making the material
meaningful is very helpful. Often I would find myself reading pages in the book that were not

Pearson 3

related to what I was studying, it was simply interesting to me. That might in turn lead to a topic
that I was studying and the previous topic would help me understand the latter. This can also go
along with my technique of chunking and mnemonic devices. While I did attempt to organize
my study time into set section, I would often read more or less than planned. For me the
rhythmic rhymes and acronyms proved to be ineffective for my study habits. Unless it was one I
already knew of it wasnt incorporated into my study technique. Usually I felt too lazy to try to
create a new acronym unless it came automatically. For example: someone with an internal locus
of control I imagine being engulfed by a tornado while a person with an external locus of control
is outside of and unable to reach inside the tornado.
I may not have used all of the strategies to their full potential, but I think that the
experiment was truly a success. Many of my quiz scores rose (from an average of seven out of
ten to nine out of ten), as well as my study guide scores. I also noticed that I understood more in
class after previously studying the chapter. A good idea I did not even think of was reinforcing
my studying with positive rewards such as food, entertainment, etc. The reward could be
presented after reaching milestones such as finishing certain sections or reading for a fixed
interval schedule. The only thing close to a reward was every hour or so of studying I would take
about a 20 minute break, which was also to allow the information to settle in.
Though the experiment could have gone better, but I am actually content with it. It may
have had flaws but it did make me realize that good study habits really do produce better
performances on homework and tests. I enjoyed that the method of rehearsal was simple and
easy to follow, making it a simple adjustment. I wish I had applied more unusual techniques
because that may have produced a more interesting conclusion. I am also disappointed that I did
not make more use of the mnemonics devices; I just wasnt sure how to properly include it in my

Pearson 4

studying. An especially aha moment was when I realized my knowledge of chapters eleven
and twelve greatly exceeded that of earlier chapters and for the first time I felt confident in this
class. In fact the studying was so effective I may try some of the techniques in my other classes
and compare how much it aids me in that field.