ISI effects on recall are nonmonotonic and depend jointly on retention interval¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2006 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? At a 1-day retention interval, performance increased as ISI difference rose from 1-15 min to 1 day, and qualitative evidence suggests performance drops when ISI difference increases beyond 1 day. → Cepeda 2006
Evidence¶
Cepeda 2006¶
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2
Accuracy difference lag analysis (Table 3): at 1-day retention interval, longer ISI of 1 day beat 1-15 min by 17.5% vs. 6.4%, t(16) = 2.7, p < .05; the same pattern appeared at 2-28 day retention intervals, t(26) = 2.4, p < .05.
"for a 1-day retention interval, performance significantly increased as ISI difference increased from 1-15 min to 1 day. Qualitatively, one study suggested that performance should drop when ISI difference increases beyond 1 day"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Expanding interstudy intervals led to better recall than fixed intervals, but conclusions are tentative — related
- The optimal interstudy interval increases as the retention interval increases — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- Spaced presentations produce markedly better final recall than massed presentations across retention intervals — related
- Relearning-to-criterion designs confound distribution of practice with amount of second-session practice — related
- The testing effect is largest at a retention interval of 1–6 days (g = 0.82) and robust across all intervals — related
- In paired-associate paradigms, the lag function is decreasing at very short retention intervals, inverted U-shaped at slightly longer intervals, and monotonically increasing at long intervals — related
- The spacing benefit holds even at very short retention intervals, contradicting the Peterson paradox — related
- In continuous recognition memory, the lag function is inverted U-shaped after a short retention interval and monotonically increasing after a long retention interval — related
- The meaning of theoretical arrows (causal vs predictive, timescale, functional form, magnitude) is unclear, and cross-lagged effect signs can change with assessment intervals — related
- Earlier studies reported that quicker recall accompanied better memory results, but with little supporting evidence — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
isi-effect-nonmonotonic-joint-retention-interval |
title |
ISI effects on recall are nonmonotonic and depend jointly on retention interval |
description |
ISI effects on recall are nonmonotonic and depend jointly on retention interval |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2006 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-13 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — cepeda-2006 |
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