Influence of re-exposure and retrieval disruption during group collaboration on later individual recall

This research examined the influence of prior group collaboration on later individual recall. We considered the negative effects of retrieval disruption and the potentially positive effects of re-exposure to additional items during group recall in the context of three hypotheses: the individual-strategy hypothesis, the combined-strategy hypothesis, and the group-strategy hypothesis. After a study phase and a brief delay, participants completed three successive recall trials in four different recall sequence conditions: III (individual-individual-individual), ICI (individual-collaborative-individual), CII (collaborative-individual-individual), and CCI (collaborative-collaborative-individual). Results show that repeated group recalls (CCI), and securing individual retrieval organisation prior to group recall (ICI), benefit later individual recall more than repeated individual recalls (III). These findings support the group-strategy hypothesis and the individual-strategy hypothesis, and have important implications for group versus individual learning practices in educational settings.