Strategies for memory improvement Flashcards
What are the verbal mnemonics?
Acronym - where a word or sentence is formed from the initial letters of other words. Roy G,BIV are the colours of the rainbow.
Acrostic - Is the same as an Acronym, except in the form of a poem.
Rhymes - Rhymes are sometimes easier to remember than usual words, so rhyming information may be easier to recall.
Chunking - Dividing a long string of information into memorable chunks, such as in post codes.
What are the visual mnemonics?
Method of loci - Relating areas with information with places, and following a route to recall everything.
Keyword method - Connecting a word to be remembered with an image. (Atkinson and Raugh, 1975)
Mind maps/spider diagrams - Using visual streams and information to make the information more unique and memorable. (Buzan, 1993)
What research is there on verbal mnemonics?
Gruneberg (1973) found that 30% of psychology studying for finals. Particularly ‘first letter’ verbal mnemonics.
Glidden et al (1983) found that verbal mnemonics were effective in children with learning disabilities. Although its effectiveness was no longer evident from a control group after 12 months.
Broadly and MacDonald (1993) studied 63 children with down-syndrome (giving them STM deficiencies) aged 4-18. First they were accessed on a battery of tests, including STM skills. They were then split into 2 groups, one got taught memory improvement techniques (Rehearsal, organisation and verbal mnemonics) the other did not. Finally they were tested again, the first group had significantly improved results.
What research is there on visual imagery mnemonics?
O’Hara et al (2007) found that the method of loci has long-term memory benefits in older adults, particularly those who continued to employ the technique after training.
Atkinson (1975) found those trained in keyboard technique learned more russian vocabulary than a control group without training. Long-term advantage support lacks.
What research is there on the limitations of mnemonic strategies?
All research supporting mnemonics have been done under laboratory conditions, with very particular tools.
Slavin (2005) found that although mnemonics can teach vocabulary they are not useful for learning to speak a language.
What is the role of organisation on memory?
Organisation is done in the brain by making associations. The more associations there are in the brain the more we can recall. Mnemonics encourage making these associations.
Bower et al (1969) proved this by giving participants 112 words to remember. If the words were ordered into conceptual hierarchies recall was 2 to 3 times better than if there was no order.
What is the role of elaborative rehearsal on memory?
Enduring memories are created through the use of elaborative rehearsal. Mnemonics help us to remember things for a longer amount of time as they cause a more elaborative way of rehearsing.
What is the Dual coding hypothesis?
Paivio (1971) argued that visual and verbal information are processed differently. He therefore agued that associating words with images and vice-versa makes information doubly encoded and therefore increases the chances of it being recorded. He called this hypothesis dual coding hypothesis.
