Research: Memory Techniques (1)
"...it was the meaning of words that was predominantly important. Each word had the effect of summoning up in his
mind a graphic image, and what distinguished him from the general run of people was that his images were incomparably more vivid and stable than
theirs. Further, his images were invariably linked with synesthetic components… which reflect the sound structure of a word and the voice of
the speaker." – A. Luria, from The Mind of a Mnemonist
Rehearsal is an important step in the encoding and ultimate retrieval of information
from long-term memory.
While there are a number of strategies regarding rehearsal, one of the oldest
and most extensively studies is the method of mnemonics.
Ashcraft defines mnemonics as "any kind of remembering strategy, especially
when long-term memory is involved" (Ashcraft, 1989, p. 144).
He points out that mnemonics forces you to learn the material well, provides a
memorable and lasting record in long-term memory, and facilitates retrieval by providing necessary cues. There is a vast array of
experimental evidence attesting to the positive effects of mnemonics on memory.
Mnemonics need not be visual in nature, but a great deal of work has been done concerning the relationship between the
visual components of the mnemonics and visual quality of the mnemonics.
One interesting line of current research investigates the effect of the
bizarreness and interaction of the imagery used on recall.
Wollen, Weber, & Lowry (1972) cited in Matlin (1989) conducted a study varying
the factors of bizarreness and interaction. Subject learned a series of word pairs such as ‘cigar-piano’. In the bizarre/non-interaction
condition, the images presented showed a piano with the keys coming off and a cigar that was burning at both ends. However, the images were
separated on the pages; there was no interaction between them.
In the bizarre/interaction conditions, the piano was smoking the cigar. In the
interaction/ non-bizarre condition, the cigar was placed on the piano. In the non-interaction/non-bizarre condition, both items were shown in
their normal states, with no interaction.
The results showed that subjects recalled more pairs that were in interaction, regardless of
whether or not the images were bizarre.
Conversely, Matlin (1989) also cites evidence showing that bizarreness does play a role in recall.
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