Ways to Enhance Memory: Study Guide for Psychology Students

Memory-Enhancing Strategies

Overview of Memory-Enhancing Strategies

Memory failures are common, but there are several strategies that can help improve recall and retention. These techniques are designed to facilitate the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory, making it easier to remember important facts and concepts.

• Rehearsal: The conscious repetition of information to be remembered. For example, memorizing multiplication tables by repeating them aloud.

• Chunking: Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks. This is especially useful for remembering numbers, such as phone numbers (e.g., 520-555-0467 instead of 5205550467).

• Elaborative Rehearsal: Thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in memory. For example, associating an area code with a location to aid recall.

• Retrieval Cues: Stimuli that help you access memories. Using cues from your environment or related information can improve recall.

Example: Repeating a phone number several times (rehearsal) and associating its area code with a familiar place (elaborative rehearsal) can help you remember it more effectively.

Mnemonic Devices

Definition and Applications

Mnemonic devices are memory aids that help organize information for encoding. They are particularly useful for recalling larger bits of information, such as lists, sequences, or steps in a process.

• Acronyms: Words formed from the first letters of a series of items (e.g., HOMES for the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).

• Acrostics: Phrases where each word's first letter represents an item to remember (e.g., "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" for the order of mathematical operations).

• Jingles: Rhyming tunes that contain key words related to the concept (e.g., "i before e, except after c").

Example: To remember the order of planets, use "Mr. VEM J. SUN" for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

This image shows the knuckle mnemonic, a visual strategy for remembering which months have 31 days. Months with 31 days correspond to the protruding knuckles, while shorter months fall in the spaces between knuckles.

Expressive Writing and Saying Words Aloud

Additional Strategies for Improving Memory

Other techniques for enhancing memory include expressive writing and saying words aloud. Expressive writing, especially about traumatic experiences, has been shown to boost short-term memory. Saying words aloud increases their distinctiveness, making them easier to remember.

• Expressive Writing: Writing about personal experiences can improve memory capacity.

• Saying Words Aloud: Speaking or mouthing words you want to remember increases recall by making them more distinctive.

Example: Saying grocery items aloud before shopping can help you remember them more effectively.

This image illustrates the technique of saying words aloud, which increases their distinctiveness and improves memory recall.

Effective Study Techniques

Strategies for Studying and Retaining Information

To study effectively, it is important to use strategies that promote deep processing and meaningful connections. The following techniques are supported by psychological research:

• Elaborative Rehearsal: Process information deeply and link it to other knowledge for better retention.

• Self-Reference Effect: Make material personally meaningful by relating it to your own experiences or knowledge.

• Forgetting Curve: Review material periodically to combat rapid forgetting and prevent storage decay.

• Rehearsal: Organize and review notes in spaced sessions, and take practice quizzes.

• Reduce Interference: Study in a quiet environment without distractions.

• Exercise: Regular aerobic exercise promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus, improving memory and learning.

• Sleep: Adequate sleep is essential for memory consolidation.

• Mnemonic Devices: Use acronyms, acrostics, and jingles to aid recall.

Example: To remember the hippocampus is involved in memory, imagine a hippopotamus with excellent memory.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Chunking: Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks.

• Elaborative Rehearsal: Thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in memory.

• Levels of Processing: Information processed more deeply becomes more meaningful and is better committed to memory.

• Memory-Enhancing Strategy: Techniques to help ensure information goes from short-term to long-term memory.

• Mnemonic Device: Memory aids that help organize information for encoding.

Review Questions

• When you are learning how to play the piano, the statement “Every good boy does fine” can help you remember the notes E, G, B, D, and F for the lines of the treble clef. This is an example of a (an): a. jingle b. acronym c. acrostic d. acoustic

• According to a study by Yogo and Fujihara (2008), if you want to improve your short-term memory, you should spend time writing about: a. your best possible future self b. a traumatic life experience c. a trivial topic d. your grocery list

• The self-referencing effect refers to: a. making the material you are trying to memorize personally meaningful to you b. making a phrase of all the first letters of the words you are trying to memorize c. making a word formed by the first letter of each of the words you are trying to memorize d. saying words you want to remember out loud to yourself

• Memory aids that help organize information for encoding are: a. mnemonic devices b. memory-enhancing strategies c. elaborative rehearsal d. effortful processing

Critical Thinking and Personal Application

• What is the self-reference effect, and how can it help you study more effectively?

• Why is it beneficial to review material again before a test, even if you think you know it?

• Create a mnemonic device to help you remember a term or concept from this chapter.

• What is an effective study technique that you have used? How is it similar to or different from the strategies suggested in this chapter?

References and Further Reading

• "Feats of memory anyone can do" video by Joshua Foer, TED Talks

• OpenStax Psychology, "Ways to Enhance Memory"