Hermann Ebbinghaus’s memory experiments showed that:
1. Twenty-four hours after learning something we
forget two-thirds of it.
2. Items forgotten can be
relearned faster than new ones learned for the first time.
3. Material that is studied
beyond mastery (over-learned) is remembered longer.
4.
Meaningful things are remembered for about ten times longer than random, meaningless things.
5. Items toward the
beginning and end of a series are most easily remembered.
6. Repeated learning sessions over a
longer interval of time improve memory retention on any subject.
B.F. Skinner concluded that behavior was shaped much more effectively by a program of
positive reinforcement (or “reward”) than negative reinforcement (or “punishment”).
Bluma Zeigarnik’s study suggested that students, especially children, retained more if they had
frequent breaks while studying.
Explaining
cognitive dissonance, Leon Festinger explains that a man with conviction is a hard man to change:
Tell him you disagree and he turns away.
Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources.
Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.
(More
here.)