Understanding the Context of Cramming: Student Cost Perceptions, Study Strategies, and Exam Performance

Abstract

Although many laboratory studies have shown that cramming is less effective than spacing, relatively few studies answer the question: Why do students cram for exams, and how is that related to their studying and exam performance? Building on the previous research, this study examined a set of contextual reasons: their perceived costs of studying, the busyness of their week, and the types of study strategies they employed. Across two studies, 50 and 296 undergraduates enrolled in psychology courses responded to a survey in which they rated the extent they crammed for a specific exam, their perceived costs of studying, and how busy they were the week of their exam. They also described their study strategies, and exam scores were collected. In Study 1, students responded to this survey for three consecutive, non-cumulative exams, and in Study 2, students responded to the survey after their final exam. Study 1 revealed that students’ outside effort costs were positively related to cramming. Interestingly, there was no relationship between cramming and the types of study strategies they used or how well they performed on the exam. The main findings from Study 1 were replicated in Study 2. In Study 2, the results show that students who cram do not spread out their study sessions, and there is no interaction effect between cramming and spacing on exam performance. Implications for future research are discussed.