Incorrect Answer in Pretest and Memory Fixation

In schools, tests are given mainly to evaluate learning achievements. Receiving a test is also known to promote learning and long-term retention of memory. Recently, even incorrect test answers have been revealed to improve scores in later evaluation tests (pre-test effect). To develop an effective teaching method by using the pre-test effect, it is necessary to understand how the effect differs between individual students depending on their characteristics. However, it has not been investigated whether the pre-test effect in promoting long-term retention of memory differs by the characteristics of students or not. In this study, the authors examined whether the pre-test effect appeared or not in a paired-associate learning task of new words, which has been widely used in studies on learning, by using Japanese stimulus words (Experiment 1). Then, the working memory capacity of each student was measured as an index for personal characteristics, and the effects of the personal difference on pre-test effect was investigated (Experiment 2). The experiments showed that the group that experienced pretest scored better in a subsequent evaluation test than the group that did not receive a pretest, confirming the pre-test effect as in preceding studies. However, no relationship was found between the pre-test effect and working memory capacity. Therefore, the pre-test effect is possibly a phenomenon independent of working memory capacity.