Mnemonics Flashcards
what is a mnemonic?
a structured technique that is used to help people remember and recall information
what are the four types of verbal mnemonics/
acronym
acrostic
rhymes
chunking
what is an acronym?
where a word or sentence is formed from the initial letters of other words
e.g.ROY G BIV=colours
what is an acrostic?
Poem or sentence where the first letter in each line of word forms the items to be remembered
e.g My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets
What is a rhyme?
a group of words with an identity or rhythm
what is chunking?
dividing a long string of information into memorable chuks
What are the 3 types of visual mnemonics?
Spider diagrams
Loci
keywork method
what is the method of loci?
associating parts of the material being learnt with different places in the order that they are to be recalled.
e.g. imagining walking round your house and every room is something to be recalled
What is a spider diagram?
making notes of information using a branching pattern. Sketches and diagrams are added and each notes page has a distinctive appearance
what are keyword methods?
It was thought of by Atkinson and Raugh and is used when trying to associate two pieces of information. Conjuring up the visual image should trigger the recall of the word
Research on visual imagery-O’Hara
They found the use of mnemonic techniques has long-term memory benefits for older adults
Research on visual imagery- what did Atkinson find?
the keyboard method had mixed results. Participants trained in the use of keyboards learned significantly more Russian vocab than a control group
research on verbal mnemonics-Gruneberg
A survey of psychology students revising for final exams, Discovered 30% of these student used mnemonics with first letter being the most popular.
research on verbal mnemonics- what did Glidden et al find?
Verbal mnemonics were effective in children with learning disabilities. Their effectiveness over a control group was no longer evident 12 months
Give one limitation of mnemonics done by Slavin
Mnemonic strategies have been successful for teaching foreign language but have not been showed to actually help speak foreign language
Studies have taken place in lab conditions-why is this a limitation?
they have used materials believed to be specially appropriate for the mnemonic strategies under test
The role of organisation- explain Bower et al’s study
Gave participants 112 words to learn. If the words were organised into conceptual hierarchies, recall was 2-3 times better
What is the role of organisation
By organising data, we establish links that help recall.
Memory works in a way that if it is organised, you can find information much quicker
The role of elaborative rehearsal-explain
research has shown that enduring memories are created through the process of elaboration. The amount of rehearsal is important but the nature of rehearsal is more important
who did the experiment on real-life application?
Broadly and MacDonald
what was the real-life application
Studied 63 children with down-syndrome aged 14-18.
Phase 1: children were assessed on a battery of tests, including STM skills.
Phase 2: divided into experimental group who received training in memory improvement techniques and a control group who did not.
Phase 3: initial assessment repeated. It was shown that the training programme had significantly improved memory skills among the experimental group children
