Where does rehearsal collide?

In cognitive psychology, rehearsal is the mental repetition of information to hold it in mind or move it into lasting memory: repeating a phone number to yourself keeps it available, and the field separates plain maintenance rehearsal, which merely sustains an item, from elaborative rehearsal, which ties it to what you already know. Craik and Watkins's 1973 The role of rehearsal in short-term memory showed that sheer repetition does little for later recall unless the material is processed more deeply, a finding that reshaped the memory models of the era. Here the referent is a private mental act inside one head, judged by how much is later remembered, not a group practising a play or a client trying out a new behaviour.[1][2]

Unit

One cycle of repeating an item to keep it in mind, per rehearsed item

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Inferred from later recall or recognition, and from timing or think-aloud measures of how often an item is repeated

In clinical psychology, behavioural rehearsal is a technique in therapy and social-skills training in which a client practises a new behaviour, often by role-playing it with the therapist, before trying it in real life: someone learning to be more assertive might rehearse refusing an unreasonable request until it feels manageable. Lazarus's 1966 Behaviour rehearsal vs. non-directive therapy vs. advice in effecting behaviour change tested this practice against talk-based alternatives and found the rehearsed enactment more effective at changing behaviour. Here the referent is a guided, corrective enactment aimed at real-world coping, not repetition to remember a fact or a company preparing a show.[3]

Unit

One role-play enactment of a target behaviour within a session

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Judged by rated performance of the target behaviour in and after the session, and by its later use in real situations