Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2023

Abstract

In two experiments (N = 200), we compared the effects of longhand note-taking, photographing lecture materials with a smartphone camera, and not taking any notes on video-recorded lecture learning. Experiment 1 revealed a longhand-superiority effect: Longhand note-takers outperformed photo-takers and control learners on a recall test, notwithstanding an equal opportunity to review their learning material right before being tested, and even when photo-takers and control participants reviewed an exact transcript of the lecture slides via their photos or printouts, whereas longhand note-takers accessed only a fraction of the content as captured in their handwritten notes. Photo-takers performed comparably to learners who had not taken any notes at all. Experiment 2 further showed that mind-wandering mediates the mnemonic benefits of longhand note-taking: Relative to learners who took photos or did not take any notes, longhand note-takers mind-wandered less and, in turn, demonstrated superior retention of the lecture content. Yet, across both experiments, learners were not cognizant of the advantages of longhand note-taking, but misjudged all three techniques to be equally effective. These findings point to key attentional differences between longhand note-taking and photo-taking that impact learning—knowledge that is easily and conveniently acquired in a snap may not be better remembered.

Keywords

Note-taking, Photo-taking, Encoding, External storage, Photo-taking impairment effect

Discipline

Educational Methods | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

Volume

29

Issue

1

First Page

124

Last Page

135

ISSN

1076-898X

Identifier

10.1037/xap0000375

Publisher

American Psychological Association

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000375

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