An emerging body of studies demonstrates that practicing retrieval of studied information, by comparison with restudying or no treatment, can facilitate subsequent learning and retrieval of new information, a phenomenon termed the 'forward testing effect' (FTE) or 'test-potentiated new learning." Several theoretical explanations have been…

Memory palaces are effective tools for learning vast amounts of information in a canonical order using mnemonics. However, our review of the literature revealed a lack of implementation and user study of memory palace in Virtual Reality (VR) for neuroscience education. VR technology enables us to build highly interactive virtual learning spaces…

Posttraining meditation has been shown to promote wakeful memory stabilization of explicit motor sequence information in learners who are experienced meditators. We investigated the effect of single-session mindfulness meditation on wakeful and sleep-dependent forms of implicit motor memory consolidation in meditation naïve adults. Immediately…

Metaphor generation is both a creative act and a means of learning. When learning a new concept, people often create a metaphor to connect the new concept to existing knowledge. Does the manner in which people generate a metaphor, via sudden insight (Aha! moment) or deliberate analysis, influence the quality of generation and subsequent learning…

We investigated whether learning and retaining vocabulary in a second language (L2) can be improved by leveraging a combination of memory enhancement techniques. Specifically, we tested whether combining retrieval practice, spacing, and related manipulations in a 'multidomain' pedagogical approach enhances vocabulary acquisition as compared to a…

Early math experiences predict children's later math abilities and beliefs. However, less is known about longer-term associations between early childhood math experiences and adult math outcomes. The present study examined emerging adults' earliest memories of mathematics and reading experiences, asking whether characteristics of their early…

Despite much research, the role of the medial temporal lobes (MTL) in category learning is unclear. Two unstructured categorization experiments explored conditions that might recruit MTL category learning and memory systems--namely, whether the stimulus display includes one or two stimuli, and whether category membership depends on configural…

We investigated whether cycloheximide (CHX) would induce amnesia for the stress-induced impairment of extinction retrieval. First, a single restraint stress session was demonstrated to impair extinction retrieval, but not fear conditioning. A second experiment showed that when CHX was administered immediately after restraint, rats exhibited…

One developmental task faced by children is to identify, remember, and learn from epistemic and moral agents around them who are known to be good or virtuous. Here, in 2 studies, we examined U.S children's (N = 138; 55% female, 45% male; predominantly White, middle-class) memory processes for agents varying in moral and epistemic virtue. In Study…

Interim tests of previously studied information can potentiate subsequent learning of new information, in part, because retrieval-based processes help to reduce proactive interference from previously learned information. We hypothesized that an effect similar to this forward testing effect would also occur when making judgments of (prior) learning…

This article explores the use of an interactive mnemonic device called a "Map of Memories" to navigate the museum theater production "Our Footprints," staged in 2017 in the Bergtheil Museum in Durban, South Africa. The Map is an interactive tool used by audience members to explore the exhibits and the performance through…

Our preferences and evaluations are often affected by contextual factors. One unavoidable context is language. We used an evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm (pairing neutral stimuli with emotional or neutral stimuli) to investigate whether our evaluations are equally conditioned in a first (L1) and a second language (L2). An EC effect was…

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to mental health struggles among students, and a range of interventions have been proposed to improve student retention and learning through "trauma-engaged pedagogy" and "cultures of caring." Drawing on the insights of affect theory, we argue that such a focus, although…

Our aim in the current study was to examine how different diary methods might impact the results of involuntary memory studies. We compared three different commonly used diary methods, record all memories experienced per day, record up to two memories per day, or record only the first two per day. Results showed that the record-all group had the…

Recent studies established that making concurrent judgments of learning (JOLs) can significantly alter (typically enhance) memory itself--a "reactivity" effect. The current study recruited 190 Chinese children (M[subscript age] = 8.68 years; 101 female) in 2020 and 2021 to explore the reactivity effect on children's learning, its…