Spontaneous and Imposed Study Tactics in Learning Prose

In two experiments, college students used either imposed or spontaneous tactics for studying a descriptive prose passage. Imposed groups received training in either outlining important points or mentally relating passage information to their prior knowledge. Learners in the spontaneous conditions received no training but were instructed to use their own idiosyncratic procedures. Control groups received no instructions. Results indicate that college students’ spontaneous study tactics are at least as effective as tactics imposed by short-term training.