<h3>Relationship between study time and performance</h3>

<p>Plant et al (2004) review the literature of studies that have correlated average time spent studying and variables such as GPA. They report a couple of correlational studies in the literature that found small positive correlations (e.g., $r=.18, r=.23$). They make two main points: (a) academic performance is heavily influenced by knowledge, skills and stable abilities that a student brings to the subject. (b) Study effectiveness is more than just time spent, it is related to how the student studies (with Plant et al suggesting the importance of deliberate practice). </p>

<p>However, there are several reasons why these small correlations may not reflect the true importance of study time for the individual decision maker. (a) Self-regulatory variables may lead people to increase time spent when they are having difficulty and decrease time spent when they find a subject easy. (b) The relationship between time spent and grade for a given individual may be non-linear (e.g., at first, more time spent may readily yield higher grades, but at a point, the rate of increase may dramatically slow approaching an asymptote). (c) variation in time spent may be somewhat low. (d) measures of time spent may be somewhat unreliable. (e) Controlled cognitive psychology experiments and the expertise literature show the huge role of practice in improving performance.</p>

<h3>Psychological theories of study time</h3>

<p>Zimmerman et al (1994) review the literature on theories of allocation of study time. They mention aptitude-trait, operant, information processing, and metacognitive views. They focus mainly on the sociocognitive perspective and discuss the roles of planning, goal setting, and self-efficacy in influencing time regulation. You may also want to check out perceptual control theory and the work by Jeffrey Vancouver.</p>

<p>In summary, such models tend to be more qualitative in their description of human behaviour. They also suggest that the allocation of study time is not performed by a perfectly rational actor. Rather, effective allocation quality and quantity of study time is a skill.</p>

<p><em>This is the result of a literature search. I didn't find anything that specifically modelled study time as the optimisation of an explicit function. But such research may well be out there, and I agree that such a model would be interesting.</em></p>

<h3>References</h3>

<ul>
<li>Plant, E.A. and Ericsson, K.A. and Hill, L. and Asberg, K. (2005). Why study time does not predict grade point average across college students: Implications of deliberate practice for academic performance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 96-116. <a href="http://edianas.com/portfolio/proj_EricssonInterview/articles/2005_Plant_Ericsson_Hill_Asberg_reprint.pdf">PDF</a></li>
<li>Zimmerman, B.J. and Greenberg, D. and Weinstein, C.E. (1994). Self-regulating academic study time: A strategy approach. Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications, 181--199. <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=lZZsd75ere4C&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PA181&amp;dq=Zimmerman,+B.J.+and+Greenberg,+D.+and+Weinstein,+C.E.+%281994%29.&amp;ots=KUsLdFq3hK&amp;sig=xpzP24EoluLX7czl5n6gkGTwKmQ&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">GOOGLE BOOKS</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-07T02:04:47.363Z
2012-05-11T07:46:00.673Z
2012-05-11T07:46:00.673Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>While I teach some economics classes, I must admit to near complete ignorance on the optimization processes students undertake when studying.  We often say that the "best" students are those who earn the highest grades.  However, from (naive) economic first principles, a rational student might be expected to endeavor not to maximize her grade, but rather to study until the marginal benefit of additional study equals its cost.  Thus, we view students as grade producers who transform labor into grades. </p>

<p><strong>Have there been any studies that investigate the optimization problem these "grade producers" are solving when they choose how much to study (and especially on how they assess the benefits of grades)?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-02T01:24:37.833Z
@Zoasterboy Okay; While I can see the humour in your one-word answer, I've migrated your answer "no" to a comment, as answers on cogsci.se are expected to justify answers with argument.
Jeromy Anglim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-22T01:18:38.600Z
Obviously I'm not a scientific study, but I often had this happen to me inadvertently by nature of being a (probably) overextended college student. At some point, I would *have* to stop studying and I knew that by that point, I either knew the material or I didn't.
Aarthi
<io-psychology><motivation><rationality><educational-psychology>
Do students exhibit rational behavior in determining study time?
Jason B
# Do students exhibit rational behavior in determining study time?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-10-13)

While I teach some economics classes, I must admit to near complete ignorance on the optimization processes students undertake when studying. We often say that the "best" students are those who earn the highest grades. However, from (naive) economic first principles, a rational student might be expected to endeavor not to maximize her grade, but rather to study until the marginal benefit of additional study equals its cost. Thus, we view students as grade producers who transform labor into grades.

**Have there been any studies that investigate the optimization problem these "grade producers" are solving when they choose how much to study (and especially on how they assess the benefits of grades)?**

**Tags:** io-psychology, motivation, rationality, educational-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Obviously I'm not a scientific study, but I often had this happen to me inadvertently by nature of being a (probably) overextended college student. At some point, I would *have* to stop studying and I knew that by that point, I either knew the material or I didn't.  
> **username_1**: @Zoasterboy Okay; While I can see the humour in your one-word answer, I've migrated your answer "no" to a comment, as answers on cogsci.se are expected to justify answers with argument.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-05-07. Score: 6

### Relationship between study time and performance

Plant et al (2004) review the literature of studies that have correlated average time spent studying and variables such as GPA. They report a couple of correlational studies in the literature that found small positive correlations (e.g., $r=.18, r=.23$). They make two main points: (a) academic performance is heavily influenced by knowledge, skills and stable abilities that a student brings to the subject. (b) Study effectiveness is more than just time spent, it is related to how the student studies (with Plant et al suggesting the importance of deliberate practice).

However, there are several reasons why these small correlations may not reflect the true importance of study time for the individual decision maker. (a) Self-regulatory variables may lead people to increase time spent when they are having difficulty and decrease time spent when they find a subject easy. (b) The relationship between time spent and grade for a given individual may be non-linear (e.g., at first, more time spent may readily yield higher grades, but at a point, the rate of increase may dramatically slow approaching an asymptote). (c) variation in time spent may be somewhat low. (d) measures of time spent may be somewhat unreliable. (e) Controlled cognitive psychology experiments and the expertise literature show the huge role of practice in improving performance.

### Psychological theories of study time

Zimmerman et al (1994) review the literature on theories of allocation of study time. They mention aptitude-trait, operant, information processing, and metacognitive views. They focus mainly on the sociocognitive perspective and discuss the roles of planning, goal setting, and self-efficacy in influencing time regulation. You may also want to check out perceptual control theory and the work by Jeffrey Vancouver.

In summary, such models tend to be more qualitative in their description of human behaviour. They also suggest that the allocation of study time is not performed by a perfectly rational actor. Rather, effective allocation quality and quantity of study time is a skill.

*This is the result of a literature search. I didn't find anything that specifically modelled study time as the optimisation of an explicit function. But such research may well be out there, and I agree that such a model would be interesting.*

### References

* Plant, E.A. and Ericsson, K.A. and Hill, L. and Asberg, K. (2005). Why study time does not predict grade point average across college students: Implications of deliberate practice for academic performance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 96-116. [PDF](http://edianas.com/portfolio/proj_EricssonInterview/articles/2005_Plant_Ericsson_Hill_Asberg_reprint.pdf)
* Zimmerman, B.J. and Greenberg, D. and Weinstein, C.E. (1994). Self-regulating academic study time: A strategy approach. Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications, 181--199. [GOOGLE BOOKS](http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lZZsd75ere4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA181&dq=Zimmerman,+B.J.+and+Greenberg,+D.+and+Weinstein,+C.E.+%281994%29.&ots=KUsLdFq3hK&sig=xpzP24EoluLX7czl5n6gkGTwKmQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)


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