generation effect / effet de génération
Group: Human, Psychology
Groupe : Homme, Psychologie
Definition: Better memory for self-generated items than for read items or items provided by the experimenter. In some circumstances, generation does not affect memory or may have a detrimental effect (negative generation effect).
Définition : La mémoire est meilleure pour des éléments que le sujet a générés lui-même que pour des éléments lus ou fournis par l'expérimentateur. Dans certaines circonstances, la génération peut n'avoir aucun effet sur la mémoire ou la détériorer (effet de génération négatif).
Broader term: memory phenomenon
Terme générique : phénomène de la mémoire
Related terms: episodic memory, semantic memory, list composition effect, distinctiveness effect, principle of desirable difficulties
Termes associés : mémoire épisodique, mémoire sémantique, effet de composition des listes, effet de distinctivité, principe des difficultés désirables
Moderator variables: Age: larger effect in older adults compared to younger adults (Betsch et al., 2007)., Experimental design: Larger effect in an intra-subject design than in an inter-subject design (Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Generated information: larger effect when the subject has to generate the complete target compared to the generation of part of the target (Betsch et al., 2007)., Generation constraint (amount of information given to the participant to generate a certain response): low constraints produce a higher generation effect than medium or high constraints, but only in free recall and cued recall tasks. No influence of the constraint level in a recognition task (McCurdy et al., 2020)., Generation rule: Calculation generation produces the largest effect (Betsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Learning type: larger effect in incidental learning than in intentional learning (Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., List composition: effect eliminated or reduced when lists are composed entirely of items to be read or generated, compared to mixed lists (Serra & Nairne, 1993 ; Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Mode of generation: larger effect when the responses generated are verbal/oral, compared to written or covert responses (McCurdy et al., 2020)., Number of stimuli: larger effect when the number of information to be generated is smaller (Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Retention interval: Increasingly larger effect as retention interval increases (Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Stimulus relation: larger effect with the generation of a semantic associate (McCurdy et al., 2020)., Stimulus type: larger effect for numbers and words compared to nonwords (Betsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy et al., 2020)., Test type: larger effect in a cued recall or recognition task compared to a free recall task. (Bertsch et al., 2007 ; McCurdy, 2020)., Test type: the effect is reversed in tests of implicit memory (Braxton, 1989; Jacoby, 1983; Srinivas & Roediger, 1990).
Selected bibliography: Bertsch, S., Pesta, B. J., Wiscott, R., & McDaniel, M. A. (2007). The generation effect : A meta-analytic review. Memory & Cognition, 35(2), 201–210. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193441 [Study type: meta-analysis / Access: open], Blaxton, T. A. (1989). Investigating dissociations among memory measures : Support for a transfer-appropriate processing framework. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15(4), 657–668. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.15.4.657 [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed], Jacoby, L. L. (1983). Remembering the data : Analyzing interactive processes in reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22(5), 485–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(83)90301-8 [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed], McCurdy, M. P., Viechtbauer, W., Sklenar, A. M., Frankenstein, A. N., & Leshikar, E. D. (2020). Theories of the generation effect and the impact of generation constraint : A meta-analytic review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(6), 1139‑1165. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01762-3 [Study type: meta-analysis / Access: open], McCurdy, M. P., & Leshikar, E. D. (2022). Contextual framework of the generation effect. The American Journal of Psychology, 135(3), 251–270. https://doi.org/10.5406/19398298.135.3.01 [Study type: literature review / Access: closed], Schindler, J., Richter, T., & Mar, R. (2021). Does generation benefit learning for narrative and expository texts? A direct replication attempt. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(2), 559‑564. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3781 [Study type: empirical study, replication / Access: open], Schmidt, S. R., & Cherry, K. (1989). The negative generation effect : Delineation of a phenomenon. Memory & Cognition, 17(3), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.6.592 [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed], Serra, M., & Nairne, J. S. (1993). Design controversies and the generation effect : Support for an item-order hypothesis. Memory & Cognition, 21(1), 34–40. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211162 [Study type: empirical study / Access: open], Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(6), 592–604. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.6.592 [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed], Srinivas, K., & Roediger, H. L. (1990). Classifying implicit memory tests : Category association and anagram solution. Journal of Memory and Language, 29(4), 389–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(90)90063-6 [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed]
Dataset citations: McCurdy, M. P., Viechtbauer, W., Sklenar, A., Frankenstein, A. N., & Leshikar, E. D. (2020, March 15). Theories of the Generation Effect and the Impact of Generation Constraint: A Meta-Analytic Review. https://osf.io/9pv7a/, Zormpa, E., & Brehm, L. (2020, March 21). The production and the generation effect improve memory in picture naming. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7KQ5S