Selective Benefits of Question Self-Generation and Answering for Remembering Expository Text

The present study examined possible memory and metacomprehension benefits of using a combined question self-generation and answering technique, relative to rereading, as a study strategy for expository passages. In the 2 question self-generation and answering conditions (detail or conceptual questions), participants were prompted on how to generate questions of a particular type (detail or conceptual) and given practice and feedback prior to reading and studying 4 experimental passages. Participants then made judgments of learning for detailed and conceptual information from the passages, following which a cued-recall test with detail and conceptual questions was administered. The self-generation and answering of conceptual questions yielded a significant benefit to memory performance for conceptual but not detailed test questions, relative to a rereading condition, whereas the self-generation and answering of detail questions provided no benefit. A similar pattern was found for metacomprehension as assessed by calibration, but not relative monitoring accuracy. The selective memory benefit observed here is consistent with theoretical frameworks that emphasize the importance of transfer- and material-appropriate processing in modulating the benefits of using question self-generation and answering as a study strategy.