| Course | PS 101 Psychology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Final applied paper |
| Length | About 1,020 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS 101 Unit 8
Twenty Short Sessions Beat Three Long Ones: Applying the Spacing Effect to a Composite Night-Shift Worker Preparing for a Commercial Driver's License Knowledge Test
Student Name
Psychology, Herzing University
PS 101: Psychology
Instructor Name
March 4, 2026
Twenty Short Sessions Beat Three Long Ones: Applying the Spacing Effect to a Composite Night-Shift Worker Preparing for a Commercial Driver's License Knowledge Test
The Claim
This paper defends one claim from our course: spreading study across several sessions separated by time produces better long-term retention than concentrating the same amount of study into one or a few long sessions. This is the spacing effect, also called distributed practice. Cepeda et al. (2006) reviewed and combined the results of hundreds of experiments on verbal learning and found that spaced study consistently produced better retention than massed study, and that the ideal spacing lengthens as the time the material must be remembered lengthens. Dunlosky et al. (2013), in a review of ten common study techniques, rated distributed practice as one of only two techniques with high usefulness, alongside practice testing.
Why This Claim and Not Another
Several findings from the term could have anchored this paper. Hindsight bias, from the first unit, is well supported but has little to say about a decision the person has not yet made. The research on reinforcement explains why habits persist, but applying it to studying would rest more on inference than on direct evidence. The spacing effect was chosen because it meets three tests at once. It is supported by a large body of experiments rather than one famous study. Its practical implication is clear and specific. And it applies to a decision real people make constantly, how to divide a fixed amount of study time, in a way that can be described without stretching the research beyond what it measured. A final paper is stronger when the claim was chosen for fit rather than for interest, and this one was chosen because it fits a situation in which the evidence actually changes what a person should do.
The Situation
The situation is a composite built for this paper. A 34-year-old warehouse worker on a night shift, four nights a week from ten at night until half past six in the morning, has been offered a driving position if he passes the general knowledge test for a commercial driver's license in three weeks. The test is multiple choice and covers a state manual of about 150 pages on topics such as inspection, braking distances, cargo securement and hazards. He has about ten hours available for study across the three weeks. His plan is to study for three long sessions on the weekend before the test, because that is how he got through exams in high school.
The situation was chosen because the spacing effect has something direct to say about it: the total study time is fixed, the material is largely factual, and the decision is about how to divide the time.
The Application
Dividing the same ten hours
The spacing effect predicts that his ten hours will produce better retention on test day if divided into many shorter sessions spread across the three weeks than if spent in three long sessions at the end. A practical division would be about twenty sessions of thirty minutes, on most days, including the days before his shifts. Nothing in the claim requires more total time; the gain comes from distribution.
Revisiting each section more than once
Spacing works by returning to material after a gap, so the plan should cycle through the manual rather than finishing each chapter once. A reasonable pattern is to read a section, revisit it two or three days later, and revisit it again the following week. Kornell (2009) found that students learning vocabulary with flashcards remembered more when they studied a large stack spread out over a session than when they studied small stacks repeatedly in a row, even though most students believed the massed approach worked better. That finding speaks directly to the worker's intuition that cramming works for him.
Combining spacing with testing
Dunlosky et al. (2013) found practice testing to be the other highly useful technique, and the two combine naturally here. Many states publish practice questions for this test. If each short session ends with ten practice questions on material studied in earlier sessions, the worker is both spacing his study and testing himself on it.
Why cramming feels effective
The worker's high school experience is not wrong about what he felt. Cramming can produce good performance on a test given soon after, and it feels productive because the material is fresh. The research distinguishes short-term performance from long-term retention, and Cepeda et al. (2006) found the advantage of spacing grows as the time to the test increases. A driver will also need this knowledge after the test, on the road, which strengthens the case for spacing.
The Boundary
The finding does not reach several parts of the situation. Most of the experiments behind it used verbal material, such as word lists and facts, studied by students in laboratories or classrooms; the manual is largely factual, which suits the research, but questions that require reasoning about unfamiliar situations may benefit less. The research also does not address fatigue. Studying after a night shift, when alertness is low, may undercut any benefit of spacing, and questions of sleep and timing need explanations from other parts of psychology. It says nothing about motivation or about whether he will keep to a plan of twenty sessions, which is a question about habits rather than memory. And it cannot predict his score, because the size of the spacing benefit varies across studies and materials.
Conclusion
The research supports a specific recommendation: with the same ten hours, he is likely to remember more on test day, and afterward, if he studies in many short sessions spread over three weeks, returning to each section more than once and testing himself as he goes, than if he crams on the final weekend. That conclusion rests on a consistent finding across many experiments and two major reviews. It stops at that. Whether he passes depends on things the spacing effect cannot measure, including how rested he is, how well he understands the material and whether the plan survives three weeks of night shifts.
References
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
Kornell, N. (2009). Optimising learning using flashcards: Spacing is more effective than cramming. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(9), 1297-1317. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1537
Reading the PS 101 Unit 8 instructions
The final PS 101 unit asks for an applied paper that defends one supported finding from the course in one situation. Expect to state the claim in a sentence with its research named, describe the situation concretely and explain why the claim has something real to say about it, apply the finding part by part, then set a boundary by naming features of the situation the finding does not reach. The conclusion must stay within the evidence cited. The paper does not need material from every unit; narrowness is the point. Three or four strong sources are usually enough. A situation from your workplace should be composite so no one is identified.
Inside the PS 101 Unit 8 example
The sample opens with the claim and two reviews behind it. A short section explains why the spacing effect was chosen over other findings from the term. The situation is described with hours, schedule, the test and the worker's cramming plan. The application runs in four subsections: dividing the same ten hours, revisiting sections, combining spacing with practice testing, and why cramming feels effective, with Kornell's flashcard study addressing the worker's intuition. A boundary section names the limits of the research, including fatigue after night shifts and reasoning questions. The conclusion makes one specific recommendation and stops there, naming what it cannot predict about the outcome.
Where the points sit in the PS 101 Unit 8 rubric
The rubric for the final applied paper usually rewards a clearly stated and supported claim, a well-chosen situation, detailed application, an explicit boundary and a conclusion that stays inside the evidence, along with writing and APA. The claim earns credit when it is one sentence with named research. The situation scores when it is concrete and fits the claim. Application is typically the largest criterion, rewarding explicit links between parts of the situation and parts of the finding. The boundary earns points when it names what other explanations would be needed. The conclusion is judged on restraint, and overreaching conclusions often cost the most at this stage.
PS 101 Unit 8 help: mistakes that cost points
Final papers lose points by trying to cover the whole course, which leaves no room for real application. Another common weakness is a claim stated as a general truth without the research behind it. Students often choose an interesting situation that the claim barely touches. Some imply connections instead of spelling them out. Others skip the boundary or conclude far beyond their evidence, promising outcomes the research cannot predict. A situation chosen only because it is dramatic usually leaves the claim with little to say. Workplace situations should be composite. A boundary that only says more research is needed, without naming specific limits, earns little. If you need help narrowing a semester of material to one defensible claim, our writers can draft an applied paper around your choice.
Get a PS 101 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Everything the last unit needs fits in one message: the Unit 8 instructions, your PS 101 rubric and the situation if the assignment names one. We write a custom example that states a single claim, applies it link by link, bounds what it cannot reach and concludes inside the citations. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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PS 101 Unit 8 questions, answered
Does the final paper have to use material from every unit?
Rarely, and trying usually hurts. Most sections ask for one finding applied well rather than a survey of what you covered, so read the instructions for the word they use: apply points one way, synthesize points another. Where synthesis is genuinely required, choose two findings that speak to the same situation rather than one from each unit.
How many sources does a final paper need?
Your instructions set the count, and it is usually modest at this level. What matters more than the number is whether each source is doing work: a paper citing four studies that each support a specific link reads stronger than one listing eight in a reference list while the argument runs on assertion. Cite where a claim needs backing and nowhere else.
Can the situation come from my workplace?
Describe it at the level the claim needs and strip the rest. Client details, personnel files, incident reports and anything identifying an employer or the people in it stay behind, since a graded paper is read outside your organization. A composite situation built from familiar patterns works just as well for the argument, and marking it as constructed costs nothing.
Where can I find a free PS 101 Unit 8 sample paper?
You can read the full PS 101 Unit 8 final applied paper on the spacing effect here for free, with the application, the boundary section and margin notes. Applying a different finding? Share the assignment and the finding you picked; a final paper built on it comes back free, mostly inside 48 hours.
Does the PS 101 Unit 8 final paper need material from every unit?
No. The sample defends one finding, explains in a short section why it chose that finding over others from the term, and applies it to a single situation in depth.