Most of the techniques that work involve you taking an active role. Passively reading your notes
may lead to the 'labor in vain' effect, where you work very hard, but remember very little.
Modified PQ4R method
PREVIEW
Take a look at the material: skim the chapter headings, the boldface words, and read the outline
summary. Studies show that subjects who read a summary recalled the material better,
particularly when they read the summary first.
QUESTION
Make up questions about the things you found in the preview (e.g. what is the James-Lange
theory? how is it different from the two-factor theory?) One study showed that subjects who
study a passage without questions recall about 30% of it, with questions provided by the
experimenter they recall 60%, and if they make up their own questions then they recall 75%. So
this simple technique can double the amount you can remember.
READ
As you read, try to answer the questions. Making notes is also useful, provided you make the
notes in your own words.
REFLECT
Think about the material you have just read. Can you think of examples from your own life? Can
you relate it to things you already know about?
RECITE
Say the material over to yourself, put it into your own words. Studies have shown that it is better
to spend your time here thatn in reading and rereading. Spending 80% of the time in recitation
improves recall three times over reading and rereading. One form of recitation is to try to write
your own study guide; write out the ideas in your own words, using your own organization.
Another is to try to explain the ideas to somebody else; imagine explaining classical conditioning
to your mother. Or perhaps you can invent mnemonics to help remember terms or dates.
REVIEW
Try to recall the material and test yourself. Study partners can help here. Making up a quiz for
yourself as part of recitation and then taking it as review is a good way to study. You should
review several times during your studying so you know what to concentrate on. The final review
will be right before the exam - it works really well if you have built up the knowledge in long-term
memory already, but it is not a good way to get information into long-term memory for the first
time!
LECTURE NOTES
More is not better, it's the thinking involved in note-taking that is most important (which is why
borrowing someone else's notes isn't as good as taking your own). Concentrate on expressing
the main ideas in a few words, and note the connections between them. Review them soon after
you make them and fill in missing details - most forgetting from long-term memory occurs within
the first few hours.
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