Even  though you are not allowed to chew gum during school, this may be the time to bend that rule.  Many studies have shown that chewing a specific type of gum while studying and then chewing that same type of gum for the actual exam helps students remember facts more.  This is called state dependency, and numerous studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of this theory.

However, some, like the 2007 research from Science Direct, titled “Chewing gum and context-dependent memory effects: A re-examination” argued that chewing gum did not actually impact memory.  This study re-examined a previous experiment with two new experiments, and stated, “Both experiments failed to show effects of chewing gum at learning or recall, nor did they suggest that chewing gum produces a context-dependent memory effect.”

Another study, done by Godden & Baddeley, was done to show when that the environment in which people study and then recall the information, the recall is significantly better than when two different environments are experienced.  

In this experiment, divers were told 38 different words, some in water and others on land.  They were asked to recall the information in either water or on land.  24 hours passed between the telling of the words and the recall.  When the conditions were the same and the diver recited, in the water, the words that he learned in the water, there was a 50% increase in the recall ability of the participants.  The researchers then concluded, “Environmental cues do improve recall and supports cue dependent theory.

Although there have been some studies against the existence of state dependency in regard to recall, the majority of studies have proven its beneficial effects on the memorization and recall of important facts and words.  So, to those that have trouble recalling information on exams, try using the theory of state and environmental dependency!