Generation Effect
We remember information better when we generate it ourselves rather than reading it.
The generation effect is a phenomenon where information is better remembered if it is generated from one's own mind rather than simply read. When people are asked to supply a word that fits a rule rather than just reading the word, their memory for that word is significantly better. This effect has major implications for learning: active recall and self-testing are far superior to passive re-reading.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Education Active Recall Study Students who try to recall information from memory (covering their notes) and then check learn material more durably than students who passively re-read their highlighted notes.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
After a marketing meeting, Rachel has a list of action items emailed to her. She later misses a step because she only read the email and didn't rephrase the tasks for herself.
Students who write their own exam questions perform significantly better than those who only study the instructor's questions, because the act of creating questions requires deeper understanding.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
Get Debias on Google Play