What term describes the decrease in time required to relearn information as compared to the original learning?

The term that best describes the decrease in time required to relearn information compared to the original learning is "savings." In cognitive psychology, savings refers to the phenomenon where individuals can remember information more quickly or efficiently after they have initially learned it, even if some time has passed since the first learning experience. This concept highlights the idea that prior learning leaves a trace or residual memory that facilitates future learning of the same material, making the relearning process quicker and requiring less effort than the original learning.

Retrieval practice, on the other hand, refers to the strategy of recalling information to enhance individual learning, rather than specifically addressing the efficiency of relearning. Encoding is the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory, while recall involves retrieving what has been stored. Both retrieval practice and recall pertain to aspects of memory usage but do not specifically capture the efficiency aspect described by "savings." Thus, savings is the most accurate term for the decrease in learning time on subsequent encounters.