Kelsey’s research interests focus largely on the realm of human learning in and out of the classroom, with a particular focus on the effects of pretesting (or testing prior to learning) on memory.

Some projects include:

True/False Testing Before and After Learning- 

How does taking a true/false test affect memory? Is it different if the test is taken before or after the information is learned? Is one or the other more beneficial? Some prior research (e.g., Carpenter, Rahman, & Perkins, 2018) has shown that pretesting is not as effective as posttesting. Other new research (Pan & Sana, 2021) has demonstrated the opposite- that pretesting is more effective than posttesting. A current project investigates the topic of pre- and posttesting through the lens of true/false tests.

Effects of Pretesting on Non-pretested Information-

Pretesting has been demonstrated to be an effective tool for learning (e.g., Richland, Kornell, & Kao, 2009). However, whether this benefit extends to non-pretested information is less clear. This project (James & Storm, 2019) included 5 experiments (500+ participants) focusing directly on the effects of pretesting on non-pretested information. Across these experiments, no benefit or detriment was found, despite several strong manipulations including the length of the pretest itself (experiments 1 & 2), the degree of relatedness between the pretested and non-pretested information (experiments 3 & 4), the learning medium (video vs. text), and whether participants were told to expect a final test on only the pretested information or on all information (experiment 5).

Effects of the Internet on Memory

The internet is often thought of as detrimental to human memory. As demonstrated by Storm, Stone, and Benjamin (2016), people tend to rely on the internet even when they do not need to (i.e., to answer easy trivia questions). One of Kelsey’s major projects (Storm, James, Stone, 2021) involved an examination of more direct effects of internet use on memory. Using a pretesting paradigm, the researchers compared the benefits of answering trivia questions from memory versus answering trivia questions by searching for the answers via the internet. Participants remembered the pretested information better on a final test compared to control regardless of whether the pretest occurred in memory or via the internet. This effect was shown whether the delay was five minutes (Exp. 1) or one week (Exp. 2).