Production effect
The production effect is the finding that you remember words better when you say them out loud than when you read them silently. Colin MacLeod and colleagues named it in 2010. Producing the item, by speaking, and to a lesser degree by mouthing, writing or typing, makes it more distinctive in memory.
In more detail
In the original studies, people read some words aloud and others silently, then took a memory test. The words read aloud were remembered better. The effect has been repeated many times, and later studies found that the benefit lasts and also works for passages of text, not only word lists.
The usual explanation is distinctiveness. Speaking adds a memory of having said the item, which makes it stand out from the ones you only read. This is also why it works best when you do it for some items and not for others. If you read every word of a chapter aloud, nothing stands out. Save it for the definitions, formulas and names that matter.
Other forms of production, such as mouthing, writing and typing, also helped in studies, though reading aloud is the one tested most. It is a simple add-on, not a full study method. It improves how well you encode what you read, but it does not replace testing yourself, so pair it with retrieval practice.
Example
Jonas has 30 key terms for a pharmacology exam. While he reads, he says the 10 hardest ones out loud, with their definitions. The next day he checks all 30 from memory. The production effect predicts that the 10 spoken terms come back more often than the other 20.
How to use it
- 1
Pick the lines worth remembering: definitions, formulas, names and dates.
- 2
Say those lines out loud, clearly, once or twice. Read the rest silently.
- 3
In a shared space, mouth the words or write them out instead.
- 4
Close the book and say the answer from memory, then check.
- 5
Come back the next day and do it again for what you missed.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF does not listen, but the habit fits. On a flashcard, say the answer out loud before you flip it, then rate how it went. Flashcards are keyboard driven, so the loop is quick, and the deck comes from your own material, so the lines you say are the ones your course covers.
See also
Common questions
What is the production effect in psychology?
It is the memory advantage of items you produce, usually by reading them aloud, over items you read silently. It was named in a 2010 paper by MacLeod and colleagues.
Does reading out loud help you remember?
Yes. In lab studies, words and passages read aloud were remembered better than ones read silently. The gain is larger when only some items are read aloud, so choose the key lines instead of whole chapters, and still test yourself afterwards.
Put it to work on your own course
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