Abstract
Self-regulated study involves many decisions, some of which people make confidently and easily (if not always optimally) and others of which are involved and difficult. Good study decisions rest on accurate monitoring of ongoing learning, a realistic mental model of how learning happens, and appropriate use of study strategies. We review our research on the decisions people make, for better or worse, when deciding what to study, how long to study, and how to study.
References
Benjamin, A. S., &Bird, R. (2006). Metacognitive control of the spacing of study repetitions.Journal of Memory & Language,55, 126–137.
Bjork, R. A. (1975). Retrieval as a memory modifier. In R. Solso (Ed.),Information processing and cognition: The Loyola Symposium (pp. 123–144). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe & A. P. Shimamura (Eds.),Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 185–205). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bjork, R. A. (1999). Assessing our own competence: Heuristics and illusions. In D. Gopher & A. Koriat (Eds.),Attention and performance XVII: Cognitive regulation of performance. Interaction of theory and application (pp. 435–459). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bjork, R. A. (2001, March). How to succeed in college: Learn how to learn.APS Observer,14, 9.
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., &Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis.Psychological Bulletin,132, 354–380.
Dempster, F. N. (1988). The spacing effect: A case study in the failure to apply the results of psychological research.American Psychologist,43, 627–634.
Dunlosky, J., &Nelson, T. O. (1992). Importance of the kind of cue for judgments of learning (JOL) and the delayed-JOL effect.Memory & Cognition,20, 374–380.
Koriat, A., &Bjork, R. A. (2005). Illusions of competence in monitoring one’s knowledge during study.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,31, 187–194.
Koriat, A., &Bjork, R. A. (2006a). Illusions of competence during study can be remedied by manipulations that enhance learners’ sensitivity to retrieval conditions at test.Memory & Cognition.34, 959–972.
Koriat, A., &Bjork, R. A. (2006b). Mending metacognitive illusions: A comparison of mnemonic-based and theory-based procedures.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,32, 1133–1145.
Koriat, A., Bjork, R. A., Sheffer, L., &Bar, S. K. (2004). Predicting one’s own forgetting: The role of experience-based and theorybased processes.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,133, 643–656.
Kornell, N. (2007).Choosing self-testing as a study strategy. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007a).Abstracting concepts and patterns: Is spacing the “enemy of induction”? Unpublished manuscript.
Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007b).Optimizing self-regulated study: On the benefits’and costs’of dropping flashcards. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Kornell, N., &Metcalfe, J. (2006). Study efficacy and the region of proximal learning framework.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,32, 609–622.
Landauer, T. K., &Bjork, R. A. (1978). Optimal rehearsal patterns and name learning. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes (Eds.),Practical aspects of memory (pp. 625–632). London: Academic Press.
Metcalfe, J., &Kornell, N. (2003). The dynamics of learning and allocation of study time to a region of proximal learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,132, 530–542.
Metcalfe, J., &Kornell, N. (2005). A region of proximal learning model of study time allocation.Journal of Memory & Language,52, 463–477.
Nelson, T. O., &Narens, L. (1994). Why investigate metacognition? In J. Metcalfe & A. P. Shimamura (Eds.),Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 1–25). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Roediger, H. L., III, &Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention.Psychological Science,17, 249–255.
Simon, D. A., &Bjork, R. A. (2001). Metacognition in motor learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,27, 907–912.
Son, L. K. (2004). Spacing one’s study: Evidence for a metacognitive control strategy.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,30, 601–604.
Son, L. K. (2005). Metacognitive control: Children’s short-term versus long-term study strategies.Journal of General Psychology,132, 347–363.
Son, L. K., & Kornell, N. (2007).Scheduling study: Time allocation and spacing. Unpublished manuscript.
Thiede, K. W., &Dunlosky, J. (1999). Toward a general model of selfregulated study: An analysis of selection of items for study and selfpaced study time.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,25, 1024–1037.
Zechmeister, E. B., &Shaughnessy, J. J. (1980). When you know that you know and when you think that you know but you don’t.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,15, 41–44.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by Grant 29192G from the McDonnell Foundation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kornell, N., Bjork, R.A. The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14, 219–224 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194055
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194055
Keywords
- Word Pair
- Study Strategy
- Difficult Item
- Easy Item
- Spanish Translation