How to Improve Memory (Students)

8/10/2019 How to Improve Memory (Students)

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MEMORY:What can I do to

improve it?

Elizabeth Avila-Mora


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OUTLINE OF LECTURE

Brief Overview of Three-Box-Model Processing Components

Best Strategies for Remembering

Attention Effective Encoding

Effortful Encoding

Rehearsal

Mnemonics Active Studying

Retrieval Practice


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Information Processing Model (Three-Box-

Model)

Processing Components

Attention:

Focusing or tuning on relevant sensations andperceptions

Rehearsal:

Process of repeating information to preserve orimprove memory.

Encoding: Processing information into the memory system

Retrieval:

Recovering stored information


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What methods or techniques do you use to

remember information or study?


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Best Strategies for

Remembering

Attend to Information


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Attention: Encoding Failure

Can You Identify the Actual Penny?

Nickerson & Adams (1979)


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Attention: Encoding Failure

Correct Answer = A


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Attention: Avoiding Distractions

The car ride was getting bumpy now that

George had left the main road to use the

dirt road. He was out of school, not having

to study during the summer break. He wasglad to get out of the stuffy offices of the

archeology department and get out into..

Connelly, Hasher, & Zacks (1991)


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The car ride river was getting bumpyjeepnowthat religious George had religious left themaindigging tools road to use the religious

dirt road. He digging tools river was out ofjeepschool, not havingdigging toolsto studydigging tools river during the summerjeepreligious break. He wasjeep riverglad to

digging toolsget out ofjeepthe stuffyreligiousofficesriverof the archeology religiousdepartment river jeep and get out into..

Connelly, Hasher, & Zacks (1991)


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Be in Synchrony with your optimal time of day.

May, Hasher, & Stoltzfus (1993)

Investigated the effects of learning during optimal time

of day. People performed better on a recognition test when learning

took place during their optimal time of day.


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Best Strategies for

Remembering Rehearsal

Elaborative Rehearsal VS. Maintenance Rehearsal


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Best Strategies for

Remembering Effective & Effortful Encoding


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Improving Memory: Encoding

Levels-of-Processing Theory

Processing duringencodingaffects how the memory isformed.

Deeper (sophisticated)

processing leads to better longterm memories.


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Deep & Elaborate Processing

Ask WHY?

Helps generate interest

Information is more likely to becomes knowledge based


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Improving Memory: Encoding & Retrieval

Organization - Group material in a meaningfulway

--The LTM equivalent of chunking

-- Meaningful connections between items inmemory help create durable memory

Encoding

Encoding


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Improving Memory: Mnemonics

Mnemonic:

Strategy forremembering

information

Involves both encoding& recall


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Improving Memory: Mnemonics

1. Imagery: connect words with images

2. Acronym: letter stands for a word (IAAM for this list)

3. Acrostic: form a sentence Please excuse my dear aunt sally. (parentheses, exponents,

multiplication, division, addition, subtraction)

Every good boy does fine (E G B D F)

My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas. (planets)

5. Method of Loci: constructing an interactiveimage that relates an idea to a landmark.


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Try the Method of Loci

Hot Dogs

Cat Food

Tomatoes

Bananas

Chicken Juice

Broccoli

Lunch meat

Pasta Bread

Cherries

Driveway

Garage

Front door

Hall closet

Living room Bathroom

Dining room

Kitchen

Den Bedroom

Study


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Timing of encoding into LTM.

Spacing Effect: repeated spaced out

presentations lead to better memory.

Implications for studying:

Cramming is massed practice, which is NOTa deep encoding process (no chance to elaborate orform connections)

Cramming leads to shallowmemories


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Best Strategies for

Remembering Retrieval


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Improving Memory: Retrieval

Retrieval practice effect (aka testing effect)

Test taking involves recall (retrieval) from LTM

Test taking can improve memory (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006)


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Improving Memory: 3RsRead Recite Review


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Encoding Specificity

Context(environment) influences memory.

Recall is better when it occurs in context in

which material was learned.

A) physical context (room)

B) emotional context
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0017-0310-2005-5420.html


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What does this have to do with you? For durable memories, study under

many different contexts

You dont want to remembersomething only in one place!

Study in different places across anumber of days

Goal: To c reate DURABLE memor ies!


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Practical Application

Remembering someones name when you are

introduced to them.


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Improve Your Memory

Use Elaborative/Deep Rehearsal

Retrieval Practice

Space out Studying Organization

Test Yourself

Use Mnemonics Read Recite Review


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Documents

How to Improve Memory (Students)