College adults are not good at self-regulation: A study on the relationship of self-regulation, note taking, and test taking.

Abstract

Self-regulation supposedly plays a central role in memory and learning, especially for adults. Research using simple materials has found that adults are skilled self-regulators. Research using difficult materials has found the opposite. Using difficult materials, the authors attempted to improve college students' self-regulation by allowing extended study time before taking a test. The authors also examined whether background knowledge and note-taking strategies would be positively related to self-regulation. Results indicated that college students were not good at self-regulation, background knowledge and note taking were not related to self-regulation, and note taking and background knowledge were generally better predictors of test performance than self-regulation. Results imply that test performance is more related to note taking and background knowledge than to self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)