1. Method
Study 1:
Participants: 89 students with a mean age of 19.78 (SD = 1.26) & 73% of
participants were female.
Results
Conclusions
 Study 1: How you study is more important than what you study on.
 Study 2: To the extent that medium matters, test medium matters more than
study medium.
 Most prefer to study on paper.
 Most think they remember & comprehend better on paper.
Limitations
 The effect of study method is unclear as we didn’t get enough data points
for deep processing.
 It is currently unclear how much study method matters for reading
comprehension compared to recall of word lists
 We don’t know why the people in our study chose shallow study methods
across the board
 Is this because this is a different population of people? Is MLR different
than actual choice of method?
The Effect of Medium of Study and Levels of
Processing on Test Performance
Introduction
 Ackerman & Goldsmith (2011)
 Participants who study articles on a computer have lower
exam scores than those using paper
 Difference is due to metacognitive learning regulation
which influences how a person learns material.
Different level of effectiveness of MLR for computers
and paper.
 Paper is perceived as best way to study material while the
computer is best for fast & shallow reading of material
(Spencer, 2000).
 Craik & Lockhart (1972)
 Processing level is behind one’s ability to retain
information, with deeper processing better for retaining
learned material.
 Maury & Quennec (1992)
 Participants receiving deep priming of a word list recall
more words than those who received the shallow prime.
Hypotheses
Study 1: If computers lead to negative effects on studying,
then participants who study material on them will do worse
than those who study on paper regardless of processing level.
Study 2: (1) When given an option of four study methods, two
deep (keyword, summarizing) & two shallow (highlighting,
rereading), do students assigned the computer preferentially
choose a shallow study option while those assigned to paper
choose a deep study option? (2) Does this impact exam scores?
(3) Is there an effect of study medium or test medium?
Tabitha C. Smith, Kaitlin Kawulok, Kathleen David, Trischa Schramm
Department of Psychology
Western Washington University
Method
Study 2:
Participants: 40 students with a mean age of 22.35 (SD + 6.58)
& 80% were female.
Screen 1: Study Method Selection
Participants chose their study method for
all articles
Screen 2-5: Article Reading
Four different articles approx. 1000
words in length each were displayed to
the participant to read
Screen 6: Exam on Article 1
A 19 question multiple choice exam on
article 1 only was given to the
participants after studying all four
articles
Screen 2a-5a: Selected Study Method
This screen was shown in between each
article so that the participant could
perform their selected method of studying
Screen 7: Demographic Questionnaire
A questionnaire was given to determine
how often the participants interact with a
computer in their weekly lives and their
preferred study medium
Participants chose:
Shallow Study Method 85%
I believe I remember better when using paper 70%
I believe I comprehend better when using paper 70%
I prefer to study on paper 52.5%
I use both a computer & paper to study 65%
Word to memorize
x20
11
+ 35
20
+ 41
Math
Worksheet
Distractor
64
+ 17
13
+ 67
Write all
memorized words
Deep Priming Question
Or
Shallow Priming Question