The effectiveness of using a yellow highlighter on memory retention

Abstract

Highlighting with highlighter pens was widely used by students as an essential aid for learning. In the study, researchers described the respondents based on the demographic variable sex. Researchers also determined memory retention in both experimental and control conditions and identified significant differences in memory retention in both groups. The participants were first-year BS Psychology students who were enrolled in a Higher Education Institution, with the purpose of contributing to past research studies on the use of yellow highlighters to retain information better. The researchers utilized a within-subjects design for quantitative-experimental research. A random sampling method was used to gather the names of 117 participants out of a total population of 166 students. The participants undergo two conditions: the controlled condition (without the use of a highlighter) and the experimental condition (with the use of a highlighter), with a two-week gap in between. Participants were given reading material and a fill-in-the-blanks testing material for the experiment. Descriptive statistics including percentage, mean, and standard deviation were employed. For inferential statistics, a paired-samples t-test with a .05 significance level was used. Results indicated a significant difference between the conditions with a p-value of .000, supporting the rejection of the null hypothesis. Effect size was determined by using Cohen's d, with a result of -.0014, which was interpreted as a little effect size. The means of the control condition (M=5.38) and the experimental condition (M=7.50) indicated that participants performed better when they used a yellow highlighter. The findings suggested that using a yellow highlighter can contribute to an individual’s memory retention.