Psychology2016

PIA- 14 INTRODUCTION

• Don’t forget your physical needs. Studies have shown that not getting enough
  sleep is bad for memory and learning processes (Stickgold et al., 2001; Vecsey et al.,
  2009). Try to stop studying an hour or so before going to bed at a reasonable time
  to give your body time to relax and unwind. Get a full night’s sleep if possible. Do
  not take sleep-inducing medications or drink alcohol, as these substances prevent
  normal stages of sleep, including the stage that seems to be the most useful for
  memory and learning (Davis et al., 2003). Do eat breakfast; hunger is harmful to
  memory and mental performance. A breakfast heavy on protein and light on carbo-
  hydrates is the best for concentration and recall (Benton & Parker, 1998; Dani et al.,
  2005; Pollitt & Matthews, 1998; Stubbs et al., 1996).


• Use your test time wisely. When taking the test, don’t allow yourself to get stuck
  on one question that you can’t seem to answer. If an answer isn’t clear, skip that
  question and go on to others. After finishing all of the questions that you can
  answer easily, go back to the ones you have skipped and try to answer them again.
  This accomplishes several things: You get to experience success in answering the
  questions that you can answer, which makes you feel more confident and relaxed;
  other questions on the test might act as memory cues for the exact information you
  need for one of those questions you skipped; and once you are more relaxed, you
  may find that the answers to those seemingly impossible questions are now clear
  because anxiety is no longer blocking them. This is a way of reducing stress by
  dealing directly with the problem, one of many ways of dealing effectively with
  stress. to Learning Objective 11.7.

THINKING CRITICALLY

Many elementary and secondary school programs now offer breakfast to their students. What foods

would benefit these children the most and why?

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Holding your eyes open is not going to help
you study when you are this tired. Sleep
has been shown to improve memory and
performance on tests, so get a good night’s
sleep before every exam.

Concept Map L.O. PIA. 5

Interactive

Reset

Studying for Exams

spacing out studying sessions (distributed practice) is more

effective than cramming (massed practice); start early!

knowing what kind of test questions to expect can help

guide study efforts

retrieval practice, testing your recall through tests or quizzes,

works much better than simply rereading, restudying, or

relying on recognition methods

don't forget to take care of yourself by getting enough

sleep, proper nutrition, and exercise

use effective time management strategies, both when

studying and while taking exams

Watch the Video Exam Prep