Download UNIT 4 - STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING MEMORY File

PSYA1 – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - MEMORY IN EVERYDAY LIFE –
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING MEMORY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES - YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:
1. Describe various strategies for improving memory
NOTE THAT THERE ARE MANY STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING
RECALL THAT ARE NOT DESCRIBED HERE. IT IS IMPORTANT
THAT YOU KNOW TWO THOROUGHLY AND ARE ABLE TO
DESCRIBE THEM CLEARLY WITH EXAMPLES
The role of organisation
Organisation seems to be the key factor in using our memories to best effect.
There are various organisational strategies. Techniques to improve memory recall are called
‘Mnemonics’. A mnemonic is a technique for aiding memory. Mnemonic systems involve
adding something more memorable to the information you are studying
Mnemonics based on organisation and visual imagery (creating a mental picture)
Example 1: Peg-word system
Basic organisational structure
One is a bun
Two is a shoe
Three is a tree
Four is a door
Five is a hive
Six are sticks
Seven is heaven
Eight is a gate
Nine is a line
Ten is a hen
Then look at the following list of words and try to form a mental image of each word and then
‘hang’ it on one of the pegs.
1.Eggs Bun
2 Bread Shoes
3 BiscuitsTree
4 Tomatoes Door
Peg ‘eggs’ onto ‘bun’ and ‘Bread’ onto ‘shoe’ etc. Create a mental image of each one linked
with the structure. Finish the rest:
6..Cheese
7.Jam
8.Pasta
9.Juice
10. Cornflakes
Example 2. Method of loci
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PSYA1 – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - MEMORY IN EVERYDAY LIFE –
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING MEMORY
Think of a regular route you take such as your journey to your workplace and visualise
key locations on the way e.g. your front door, a lamp post at the end of the street, the
bus stop, etc. Associate each item of a list of things you need to remember with one of
the locations on your route.
Research has found this method useful for enhancing recall
particularly if the information to be remembered is presented verbally.
This is probably because it will be encoded twice, once in the
phonological loop and again in the visuo-spatial sketchpad.
Example 3: Keyword technique (Gruneberg) – useful for learning new foreign
language vocabulary
Form an image of a familiar English word with a foreign word that
sounds similar.
e.g. German word for hedgehog is igel pronounced eagle
In order to learn the new German word picture an eagle
swooping down to carry off a hedgehog.
Gruneberg and Jacobs (1991) reported on a group of English
speaking executives who were able to learn 400 new Spanish
words in only 12 hours using the key word system.
Example 4: Face-name system (Lorayne and Lucas 1974) useful for remembering
people’s names
You think of an image that is similar to the person’s name and then link that image to a
prominent feature on the person’s face.
Richard Greene
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PSYA1 – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - MEMORY IN EVERYDAY LIFE –
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING MEMORY
Verbal mnemonics are useful when the order is important
Acronyms and Acrostics.
Acronym
To create an acronym, take the first letters of the items that you are trying to remember and
make a new word out of them.
For example the word BRASS can be used to remember how to shoot a rifle: Breath, Relax,
Aim, Sight, Squeeze.
CART could be used to remember your grocery list: Carrots, Apples, Radishes, and Turnips.
First aiders might remember techniques to deal with sports injuries e.g. PRICE:
Position,Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation
Acrostic
An acrostic is similar to an acronym, but instead of making a word out of the first letters, you
make a sentence.
For example, you could remember the phrase "My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine
Pizzas" to learn the order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
The colours of the rainbow (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet) could be
recalled by the first letter of each word, ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle in Vain’.
These mnemonics work by making the material more meaningful and by chunking it. They
change the task from recall to aided recall, which is much easier, and they tell you the
number of items you are supposed to remember, which can be quite helpful.
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