第七十四期杂志——练习测验能够加强记忆

小山林卡

Practice tests help youremember—even if you don’t check if you’re correct

练习测验能够加强记忆——即使你没有检查你是否正确

Re-reading study guides is not nearly ashelpful.

重复阅读学习提纲并没有那么有效。

ROHEENI SAXENA - 12/1/2016, 7:09 PM

For more than a decade, neuroscientists have known that stressimpairs memory performance—an effect likely due to the influence ofstress-related hormones. A recent article in Science shows that a specifictechnique—taking practice recall tests—can help people overcome the memory problems associated withstress. And it even works if you aren't told how well you did when practicing.

在过去十多年间，神经学家们已经知道压力会损害记忆力——这可能是由于受到了和压力相关的荷尔蒙的影响造成的。最近在《科学》上刊登的一篇文章指出一个特殊的技巧——回想型练习测验——能帮助人们克服压力带来的记忆问题。而且在整个练习的过程中，即使没有被告知你的表现，这个技巧依然可行。

For this work, 120 participants were asked to study lists ofnouns one at a time. After studying the list, half of the participants engagedin a cognitive task known as “study practice” in which they re-studied the list by re-reading it. The other60 participants engaged in a “retrieval practice” task, in which theytried to recall as many nouns on the list as they could, using practice tests. The retrieval practiceparticipants did not receive feedback on their performance—they didn’t know ifthey were doing a good job of recalling the nouns or not.

为了证实这项工作，120个实验参与者被要求一次学习一张名词词汇表。在学完名词表后，一半的参与者开始了名为“学习实践”的认知型任务，以通过重读的方式重新学习这张词汇表。其余60个参与者则进行“提取练习”，也就是说，通过练习测验，尽可能地想起所有他们记下的单词。参加提取练习的这60人并没有收到任何关于他们测试的表现反馈——他们不知道他们是否在回想名词这一环节中是否表现良好。

One day after this memory related task, half of the study practice participants and half of theretrieval practice participants were subjected to a high-stress situation knownas the Tier Social Stress Test, a procedure that placed them in asituation in which they will be harshly judged. Therest completed a non-stressful task of equal duration. The authors measuredtheir physical state via a wristband that measured interbeat interval(heart rate) and blood volume pulse (arterial translucency) to confirm that thestress experience produced the expected response—which it did.

在完成这项和记忆力相关的任务的一天后，从参与学习实践和练习测验的参与者中各选取一半的人，在高压力环境下进行名为“社会层级压力测试”。他们会被安排在一个会被严格审核的环境中进行测试。剩下的参与者则在无压力的环境下完成同样的任务。作者们通过利用腕表监测心跳间隔（心率）和血容量脉冲（动脉透澈度）来测量参与者的身体状况以确认压力是否带来了预期效果——结果为是。

When the memory performance of the different groups was compared,three main results were apparent. First, the authors found that stressedparticipants who had studied by reading over the list of nouns recalled feweritems than their non-stressed peers. This finding clearly reiterates thatstress resulted in memory impairment.

当比较不同组的记忆力表现时，很明显得到三种主要的结论。首先，作者们（即此实验的主导者）发现在压力环境下的重复学习参与者可回忆起的名词数量要少于无压力的对照组。这个发现清楚地重申了压力对记忆力的损害。

Second, the authors found that timingfor item one was critical. There was no difference in memory performance forstressed versus non-stressed participants if the test was administered withinfive minutes of the stress experience. If, instead, the recall test occurred twenty minutes after thestress, there was a marked difference between the two different study methods.

其次，作者们发现时间长短对于第一组测试者来说是至关重要的。如果测试限定了五分钟，那么有压力的参与者和无压力的在记忆力表现上没有任何区别。但如果回忆测试在有压力的环境下待20分钟后才开始，那么两种不同的学习方法带来的效果将有明显的区别。

This tells us that it took a fair amount of time for the hormonesassociated with the stress experience to have a significant effect onmemory recall.

这个结果告诉我们，荷尔蒙和压力在一段时间后会对记忆回溯产生重要的影响。

Finally, the authors replicated thedifferential recall effects. They found that participantswho studied by re-reading the noun list recalled an average of 8.2 items fiveminutes after the stressful task, and an average of 7.9 items 20 minutesafter the stressful task. By comparison, participants who studied by takingpractice tests could recall an average of 9.9 items five minutes after thestressful task and could remember an average of 10.7 items 20 minutesafter encountering their stressful task. This improvement came even if they didn’t knowhow they performed on the practice tests.

最后，作者们根据不同的小组重复记忆回溯的过程，得到了不同的结果。他们发现，通过重读名词列表进行研究的参与者在压力测试后的5分钟内平均回忆起了8.2个项目，而在在压力测试后的20分钟内则平均为7.9个。相比之下，通过练习测验来学习的参与者在压力测试后的5分钟内平均可回想起9.9个，在压力测试后的20分钟内平均为10.7个。甚至即使他们不知道他们在练习测验上表现得如何，这种记忆力的改善也显而易见。

This data clearly demonstrates that the “retrieval practice”technique, in which participants completed practice tests, was more effectivefor memorization.

这数据清楚地表明，在参与者挑战练习测试的时候，提取练习的技巧对记忆更有效。

The authors suggest that the decline in memory that comes withtime after the stressful encounter may be due to the biphasic nature of thestress response. The body responds to stress with two major hormonal changes.One is rapid, short-lived, and includes the secretion of epinephrine andnorepinephrine. The second response is a gradual and longer-lasting secretionof cortisol. Though the authors did not test for levels of these hormones, theythink their results are due to changes in cortisol levels that occurbetween five and 20 minutes after exposure to stress.

作者们认为在一定时间内，面对压力所产生的记忆力衰退可能是由于压力反应的两相特性造成的。身体对压力的反应主要有两种激素变化。一种是快速的，短暂的，并且包括肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素的分泌物。第二种反应则是渐变且持久的皮质醇分泌物。虽然作者们没有测试这些荷尔蒙的水平，但他们认为他们的结果应归因于在压力作用后5到20分钟内发生的皮质醇水平的变化。

This work demonstrates that some techniques for memorization aresuperior to others, particularly in high-stress situations. Future work could examinethis same phenomenon in a more natural environment, perhaps among emergencymedicine residents who are training to deal with high-stress work environmentsdaily. Regardless, for everyone who may need to learn material for upcomingrecall tests, using practice tests to solidify your memory seems to be the wayto go.

这项实验证明了一些记忆方面的技巧确实优于其他方法，特别是在高压环境下。未来的工作可能会在一个更自然的环境下，用相同的方法进行测试，或许将在那些每日都在高压环境下工作的急救医护人员之间开展。无论如何，对那些可能想要为后续的回想类测试而学习的人来说，练习测验似乎可以成为其中一种巩固记忆的手段。

Science, 2016. DOI: 10.1126/science.aah5067 (About DOIs).

转载链接：

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/12/practice-tests-help-you-remember-even-if-you-dont-check-if-youre-correct/

翻译 by 何以

校对 by  Yarina

终校 by Gabriellaz

树屋字幕组-文翻组

翻译仅供学习交流，严禁用于商业用途

penz

学习了，辛苦