Question

Describe 2 memory strategies for forming better memories. Explain what is happening in the network with each strategy. Describe 2 reasons, according to this model, why a person might forget a piece of information.

Answer 1

Strategies for forming better memories:

Individuals differ in their abilities to memories. There are some of the general principles that can be applied to improve memory. Psychologists have developed mnemonics, which means the art or system of memory strategies. By using the following techniques an individual can improve one's encoding, storage and retrieval capacities.

Mnemonic System:

The term Mnemonic ( "ne-MAHN-ick") means to help the memory, it's a form of active, strategic learning device or method , a rehearsal strategy.

A mnemonic is a technique , such as thyme or an image, that uses familiar associations to enhance the storage and recall of information in memory.

This definition is made up of three important parts:

1. The use of familiar association.

2. The storage or encoding of an information.

3. Remembering an information which is stored.

There arenumber of techniques to aid memory, such as use of notes for delivering speech, teleprompters used by television anchors etc.

( Note: Here are three strategies for improving memory, while describing these strategies I am trying to explain, what exactly happens in the network or the process of memorising an information)

1. Method of Loci: Cicero describes a technique based on visual imagery and memorized locations. Loci is the plural of locus, meaning "a place"

There are two keys to the method of Loci

1. The memorized physical location

2. Mental images of the to-be-remembered items , one per location.

First, individual has to choose known set of locations that can be recalled easily and in order. For example: An individual can select j10 to 12 locations across campus. Then an individual has to form mental image of the first thing which he/she wants to remember, and mentally place that thing into the first location, continuing the second thing into second socation and so on.

When it's time to recall the items, all one needs to do is mentally stroll kthrough set of locations, "looking" at the place and "seeing" the item placed there.

2. Peg word system:

It's an another mnemonic device in which a prememorized set of words serves as a sequence of mental "pegs" onto which kthe to-be-remembered material can be 'hung'.

In this technique an individual associates new words or concepts with the listof words one already knows.

For example, learning a rhyme such as "One is bun, tow is shoe".

When it's time to recall, all an individual has to do is first remember what peg word rhymes with one, then retrieve the bun image created.

Key word method:

A slightly different form of the peg word technique is the key word method jused by Atkinson and Raugh. Atkinson suggests that a key word is an "English word that sounds like some part of the foreign word" . After subjects associate the spoken foreign word with the key word, they form a mental image of the key word interacting with the english translation, composed of key word that is acoustically similar to the foreign word and an imaginal relation between the key word and the actual English word.

For example: Pato is the Spanish word for Duck. Pato is similar in sound to 'pot-o' using the word pot as the key word. we could imagine a duck kwith pot over it's head.

Here, the memory pegs are number of letters. To-be-remembered items are linked to the visual images formed with the letters.

Reasons, why person might forget piece of information:

1. Interference: The most common conceptualization of forgeitting has been that it is caused by interference. Originally learned material can not be reproduced . They are forgotten because, in the meanwhile new responses got associated with the old stimuli.

There are two types of interferences Proactive and Retroactive

People forget at a dramatic rate only after they have tested on several trials.

1. Proactive interference: As an individual experience more and more trials in the task, recalling becomes more difficult because the previous trials are generating interference. Which is called as Proactive Interference (PI)

2. Retroactive interference: In this case, newer material interferes in time with yours recollection of older items.

2. Failure to retrieve (Role of cues)

Inability to retrive information clearly affects 'memory' . The fact that an individual can have difficulty remembering a piece of information at on time, but remember it later indicates that the information did not disappear from memory, but rather remained unfound when first sought.

Given, appropriate cues , an information may eventually be found. Many Mnemonic techniques ( as mentioned above) are based on developing memorable links between different bits of information.

For example, Tulving and Pearlstone asked kresearch participants to remember lists of words, which were arranged in groups, each with a heading liike - animals, rocks, trees or similar

The participants were not asked to learn the category names, just the list of words.

Later half, the participants were provided with category names and asked to recall as many of the original words.

Perhaps, not surprisingly, those who have given the cues (Category name) recalled for more than jthose, who were asked kto 'free-recall' (without cue). This shows, organising information jin a structured also helps to provide cues for retrieval.