Distributed practice aids digit memorization, but massed practice is preferred for new and short mazes, indicating a boundary condition on the spacing effect¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r1–r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1921 · checked against its sources 2026-10-25 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Edward S. Robinson's experiments found distributed practice in memorizing digits more fruitful, as a rule, than concentrated learning. → Gates 1921 q2 i? L. A. Pechstein found with both human and animal learners that massed learning is preferred to distributed effort when the maze is new and short, and long problems were in certain cases best learned by massed attack upon parts. → Gates 1921 (2)

Evidence¶

Gates 1921¶

Gates, A. I. (1921). Educational Psychology at the Chicago Meetings of Scientific Societies. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 12(2). https://psycnet.apa.org/journal/edu

q2 · i? · review · r2

Conference report of laboratory experiments on memorizing digits: distributed practice was "more fruitful, as a rule" than concentrated learning. No effect sizes or sample sizes are printed in the report.

"Distributed practice in memorizing digits is more fruitful, as a rule, than concentrated learning, according to experiments of Edward S. Robinson of Chicago University."

Gates 1921 (2)¶

Gates, A. I. (1921). Educational Psychology at the Chicago Meetings of Scientific Societies. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 12(2). https://psycnet.apa.org/journal/edu

q2 · i? · review · r1

Conference report of maze-learning experiments with human and animal learners: massed learning was preferred when the maze was new and short, and long problems were in certain cases best learned by massed attack upon parts. No effect sizes are printed.

"L. A. Pechstein, University of Rochester, found, with both human and animal learners, that massed learning, when the maze is new and short, is to be preferred to distributed effort."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• For short maze problems, massed learning effort is more economical than distributed effort in trials, time and errors, for both rats and human adults — related
• The longer and more difficult the motor problem, the more advisable it is to break it into units and learn both the units and their connections under massed conditions — related
• The massed-versus-distributed question is tied to the whole-versus-part question: the hard problem remains hard unless learned in parts under massed conditions — related
• Spaced Practice Improves Retention — related
• Animal neuroscience studies show spaced stimulation produces greater long-term potentiation than massed stimulation — related