Generation effect: what it is and how it can be used to learn better

For decades several psychologists have dedicated themselves to studying a psychic phenomenon as complex as interesting that the memory of the human being is and the different types among which it can subdivide (p. g., short-term, long-term, declarative, procedural memory, etc.), as well as the processes that are put in place so that we can retain information, among which is the effect generation.

The generation effect is a phenomenon that has been discovered when some researchers found that people are able to remember a certain amount substantially more information when it is generated by themselves compared to information that has only been heard or read. This would show that to study efficiently, it is better to use a more active method that requires more effort, instead of just reading the text.

In this article we will explain in more detail What is this phenomenon related to the memory of the human being that has been called the “generation effect”?. We will also see some research on this and its relationship with the development of false memories.

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What is the generation effect?

For several decades, several research psychologists in the area of ​​memory have been studying a psychological phenomenon that has been called as the “generation effect” (EG), which was discovered in the 70s of the 20th century by a team of cognitive psychologists when they were able to observe, by performing some experiments about the vocabulary of some research subjects, who were able to remember words more easily when they generate them; in other words, rremembered words better when they actively brought them to mind rather than reading them off a page.

The generation effect, therefore, consists of the fact that people are able to remember a greater amount of information and bring it back to our mind. faster when it has been generated with ourselves, compared to the ability we have to remember that information that we had only read or listened. This would show that in order to study efficiently for an exam, it is better to use a more efficient method. that requires more effort, instead of reading the text passively without making more efforts to to learn.

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Ways to take advantage of the generation effect when studying

There are several advantages to taking advantage of the benefits that the generation effect could offer us when it comes to memorize the information contained in a syllabus that enters the exam that we are going to examine.

In the first place, it is advisable to summarize what we have read in our own words and try to memorize what we have understood with those words. words that we have used to summarize it, instead of reading it over and over again as it appears in the text trying to memorize it in a rush.

Another highly advisable exercise would be the development of conceptual maps where the most important concepts are reflected, so that when the student takes a look at the map There is an overview of the agenda in a structured way that you can complete mentally by thinking about the meaning of each of the concepts that appear reflected in the.

According to the generation effect, we will learn more easily and a greater amount of information if we use our own language. based on what we have understood from what we have read and we make an effort to actively try to link one part of the information with another, instead of passively trying to memorize it identically to how it is written.

Other ways to take advantage of the generation effect that could help students retain a greater amount of information would be doing exercises in which words are missing in the text that they must fill in, or also with exercises in which lists of words appear in which a word is missing that they must guess based on the category, so that in both cases should make an effort to be able to complete the information, allowing better retention of the information than if all the words appeared and the student only had to read them.

That is why the generation effect has been studied exhaustively for several decades and has come to be considered as a advantage for our memory and in order to acquire new knowledge or to carry out any general learning task, and it is that There are three main reasons to take this effect into account when studying or trying to acquire new knowledge:

• It can help us retain a greater amount of information in our memory.
• It makes it easier for us to better retrieve that information stored in our memory that we had generated.
• That generated information will be stored for a longer time in our long-term memory.

In short, if we take into account the generation effect when studying or learning, we will be more efficient and it is more likely that we will be able to retain a greater amount of information and also will be stored for longer in our long-term memory, since this effect is considered a great advantage for memory when trying to retain information.

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Research carried out on the generation effect

There are numerous investigations and experiments that have been carried out to study the generation effect.

Among them is the experiment that was carried out by a team of psychologists from the University of Toronto, directed by Norman Slamecka, in which the participating subjects had to memorize a series of words antonyms (eg. g., hot and cold). However, not all the volunteers in the experiment received the same type of cards. One half of them received a series of cards where antonyms were written (p. g., hot-cold), while the other half received letters in which only the initial letter of the second word appeared (p. g., hot-f).

The results of this experiment were surprising, revealing that the participating subjects who best remembered the cards were those who had obtained the cards with missing letters because only the initial letter appeared in the second word. This experiment that confirms the generation effect shows that when it comes to memorizing information if we put a lot of effort into it, using a active learning mode in which we have paid a lot of attention, our brain will allow us to better understand that information and, therefore, we will retain it better.

A meta-analytic review of the generation effect that was published in 2007 by Sharon Bertsh and her collaborators were able to demonstrate that the generation effect is a solid and consistent finding as a psychic phenomenon related to learning and memory. However, some of the experiments carried out on the generation effect that were analyzed for the meta-analysis had been carried out conducted with relatively small subject samples, thereby encouraging other researchers to replicate and/or apply their findings. findings.

Even so, there is a large number of studies that have demonstrated that the generation effect is a phenomenon that can be considered real and that should be further investigated to have a greater empirical demonstration.

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Relationship between the generation effect and false memories

In recent years there has been a phenomenon within research on the generation effect that has aroused a lot of interest and it is none other than the relationship that has been found that could have an influence in the production of “false memories”, these being information recorded in memory that does not correspond to what a person has actually experienced. This has aroused so much interest because it is negative and even paradoxical that a phenomenon like the generation effect, which supposes a memory advantage, may also be related to the false memories.

It is a great challenge for psychologists who are dedicated to research related to the area of ​​memory, trying to study and understand how it is It is possible that a phenomenon such as the generation effect can produce results as opposite as the development of false memories and at the same time help the time of retain more information.

At a theoretical level, there are investigations that have found that the generation effect occurs due to that there is a multiplication of networks of meaning that have been promoted during the task of learning; however, those networks can become the cause of false memories.

However, in some experimental studies that have been carried out in order to evaluate the relationship between the generation effect and the production of false memories have found a series of contradictory results, so they have not been able to confirm that this hypothesis be true. On the other hand, studies carried out in 2007 concluded that the generation effect was not associated with the development of false memories, while there were some who did find a high relationship between both phenomena.

The conclusion drawn in 2012 by a group of researchers (Martínez et al.) is that There is no evidence that the generation effect produces an increase in false memories., being consistent with a wide variety of studies, so they stated that this phenomenon is very beneficial for learning and memorizing information, so it can be very relevant for students.