The effect of practice test modality on perceived mental effort and delayed final test performance

Taking a test on studied materials results in better delayed recall performance than restudying (a.k.a. the testing effect). A common finding in testing effect research is that the effect depends on test format: the magnitude of the testing effect differs between free-recall, cued-recall, and recognition testing. This is explained by the effortful retrieval hypothesis: effortful successful retrieval results in better memory for an item than less effortful successful retrieval. However, the assumption that successful retrieval on different types of tests requires different levels of effort has not yet been tested. To test this assumption, we measured perceived mental effort on different test formats. Participants indicated free-recall was more effortful than cued-recall, and cued-recall more effortful than recognition. Furthermore, cued and free-recall yielded better cued-recall performance on a one-week delayed test than restudy or recognition. The results support the assumption that different practice test formats require different levels of mental effort.