The Von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that when a person is presented with a list of similar items, the one item that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered. It was developed by the German psychiatrist and pediatrician Hedwig von Restorff, whose 1933 research demonstrated that people show improved memory for a distinctly different item when it appears among otherwise similar items on a list.
Facts
Core ClaimWhen multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered. 1 FAQs
How can the Von Restorff effect be used in teaching?
Make key information visually distinctive with colour coding or bold text so it stands out and is remembered.
The effect holds that the item that differs from the rest of a set is more likely to be remembered, so making key information visually distinctive can improve students' retention and recall of important concepts. Colour coding, bold text and contrasting formatting are the examples given, and the same principle is applied in textbook design, where headings and colour-coded diagrams isolate critical information. One caution is that most studies use artificial laboratory word lists, so researchers have called for tests with prose passages and real learning environments.
Connections
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Von Restorff effect
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Von Restorff effect
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, sentence naming von Restorff and her 1933 study
The theory was coined by German psychiatrist and pediatrician Hedwig von Restorff (1906-1962), who, in her 1933 study, found that when participants were presented with a list of categorically similar items with one distinctive, isolated item on the list, memory for the item was improved.
Lead section, sentence defining the distinctive item effect
when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered.
Lead paragraph
The von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered.
Developed By: Hedwig von Restorff, Lead
The von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered.
In Group: Memory Models and Memory Effects, Lead
The von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus that differs from the rest is more likely to be remembered.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.