Spacing out study sessions over time rather than cramming in one night has been found to be highly effective, especially in long-term retention of information.

Rated as high utility. It has wide generalization, is easy to implement and has been found to effectively boost academic performance.


Concordia College - Moorhead

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Long-term recall is improved when studying is broken up into many short sessions rather than long concentrated ones (memory consolidation is improved). 

Spacing effect

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi-org.cordproxy.mnpals.net/10.1177/1529100612453266


Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and  Educational Psychology

- Origins of the spacing effect (early literature)
- Displays of spacing effect in different domains
- Spacing v. Massing

Types of references on the spacing effect

The spacing effect has been shown to improve long-term recall in a variety of domains such as: 
- Conditioning (even in non-human animals)
- Verbal learning
- Motor learning
- Learning educational material

Scope of the spacing effect (different domains)

Spacing has shown to improve long-term recall more than massing by many studies. Some people however (such as E.Z. Rothkopf during in September of 1977), have posited that massing is better mode of studying when dealing with problems of induction. Kornell, N., & Bjork (2008) presented compelling evidence against this claim (spacing is also better for induction).

Effects of Spacing compared to Massing

The two main variables influencing the spacing effect are the spacing interval (lag) and the retention interval (test delay).

Spacing effect variables

A memory strategy where one associates multiple items with each other by using imagery, sentence generation, or other strategies (e.g. dog and spoon).

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