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Processing information into memory is called encoding. People automatically encode some types of information without being aware of it. For example, most people probably can recall where they ate lunch yesterday, even though they didn’t try to remember this information. However, other types of information become encoded only if people pay attention to it. College students will probably not remember all the material in their textbooks unless they pay close attention while they’re reading. Strategies for encoding information such that it can more easily be stored in long-term memory include rehearsal, or chunking. The way in which information is encoded affects the strength of the memory trace. For instance, semantic encoding, which involves attaching meaning to incoming information, typically leads to better retention compared to shallow processing, like focusing on the appearances or sounds of words.
Enhancing Memory
Memory can be enhanced in a variety of ways, including rehearsal, overlearning, distributed practice, minimizing interference, deep processing, organizing information, mnemonic devices, and visual imagery.
Practicing material helps people remember it. The more people rehearse information, the more likely they are to remember that information.
Overlearning, or continuing to practice material even after it is learned, also increases retention.
Learning material in short sessions over a long period is called distributed practice or the “spacing effect.” This process is the opposite of cramming, which is also called massed practice. Distributed practice is more effective than cramming for retaining information.
Organizing material in a coherent way helps people to remember it. Organizing material hierarchically or in categories and subcategories can be particularly helpful. The way an outline is organized, for example, usually helps people to remember the material in it.
Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonics are strategies for improving memory. Different kinds of mnemonics include acronyms, acrostics, the narrative method, rhymes, chunking, and method of loci.
Acronyms are words made out of the first letters of several words. For example, to remember the colors of the spectrum, people often use the name ROY G. BIV, which gives the first letters of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet in the right order. While acronyms can, in many cases, form real words, they do not have to. For instance, the acronym PEMDAS describes the order of operations in math (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction).
Acrostics are sentences or phrases in which each word begins with a letter that acts as a memory cue. For example, the rather strange phrase Roses on yachts grow better in vinegar also helps to remember the colors of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
Chunking material into segments is also helpful. People often remember long strings of numbers, such as Social Security numbers, by chunking them into two-, three-, or four-digit segments.
Method of loci involves associating information with specific physical locations in a familiar setting, such as rooms in a house. By mentally “walking through” these locations, individuals can recall the information they have linked to each spot.
Serial Position Effect
The serial position effect refers to the tendency for people to recall items from a list based on their position in the sequence. When information is presented, items at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be remembered than items in the middle. These phenomena are referred to as the primacy effect and the recency effect.
The primacy effect refers to the fact that information presented at the beginning of a list is more memorable because it has had more time to be rehearsed and encoded into long-term memory. The recency effect refers to the fact that information presented at the end of a list is more memorable because it is still in short-term memory at the time of recall. Information presented in the middle of a list is less likely to be remembered, since it is neither reinforced by rehearsal nor freshly encoded.
