Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

270 CHAPTER 6 MemoryENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGYSuperpower Memory in Minutes per Day!Yes, that’s what many memory self-help programs promise you.But after you cut through all the hype, what are you left with?Mostly what we’re going to give you in this section—some wellestablishedand effective but less-than-magical strategies to helpboost your memory for important information.1. Space your study sessions.Distributed practice means that you learn information over severalsessions, which gives you time to mentally process andincorporate the information (Son, 2004). Students who take thedistributed-practice approach to learning retain significantlymore information than students who use cramming, or massedpractice (Rohrer & Taylor, 2006).2. Sleep on it to help consolidate those memories.As we discussed in Chapter 4 on page 148, sleep helps you consolidatenew memories. (Don’t try this as an excuse in class.)Non-REM sleep (nondreaming) seems to help consolidatedeclarative memories, while dreaming REM sleep seems to helpconsolidate procedural memories (Marshall & Born, 2007;Wixted, 2004). All-night cram sessions just before an exam areone of the least effective ways to learn new material.3. Focus your attention.Problems in absorbing new information arise when distractingthoughts, background noise, and other interruptions sidetrackyour attention. Television and cell phones are common culprits.Rather than studying in front of the tube or responding to textmessages, locate a quiet study space that’s free from distractionsso you can focus your attention. If distracting thoughts are competingfor your attention, start your study session by readingaloud part of what you need to study.4. Commit the necessary time.The more time you spend learning material, the better you willunderstand it and the longer you will remember it. Budgetenough time to read the assigned material carefully. If you readmaterial faster than you can comprehend it, you not only won’tunderstand the material, you also won’t remember it.5. Organize the information.We have a strong natural tendency to organize information inlong-term memory into categories. You can capitalize on this tendencyby actively organizing information you want to remember.One way to accomplish this is by outlining chapters or your lecturenotes. Use the chapter headings and subheadings as categories,or, better yet, create your own categories. Under each category,list and describe the relevant terms, concepts, and ideas. This strategycan double the amount of information you can recall.6. Elaborate on the material.You’ve probably noticed that virtually every term or concept inthis text is formally defined in just a sentence or two. But we alsospend a paragraph or more explaining what the concept means.To remember the information you read, you have to do the samething—engage in elaborative rehearsal and actively process theinformation for meaning (see page 239). Actively question newinformation and think about its implications. Form memory associationsby relating the material to what you already know. Try tocome up with examples that relate to your own life.7. Use visual imagery.Two memory codes are better than one (Paivio, 1986). Ratherthan merely encoding the information verbally, use mentalimagery (Carretti & others, 2007; Sadoski, 2005). Much of theinformation in this text easily lends itself to visual imagery. Use thephotographs and other illustrations to help form visual memoriesof the information. A simple way to make text information visuallydistinct is to highlight different concepts in different colors.8. Explain it to a friend.After you read a section of material, stop and summarize whatyou have read in your own words. When you think you understandit, try explaining the information to a friend or family member.As you’ll quickly discover, it’s hard to explain material thatyou don’t really understand! Memory research has shown thatexplaining new material in your own words forces you to integratethe new information into your existing knowledge base—an excellent way to solidify new information in your memory(Kornell, 2008).9. Reduce interference within a topic.If you occasionally confuse related terms and concepts, it maybe because you’re experiencing interference in your memoriesfor similar information. To minimize memory interference forrelated information, first break the chapter into manageablesections, then learn the key information one section at a time.As you encounter new concepts, compare them with previouslylearned concepts, looking for differences and similarities.By building distinct memories for important informationas you progress through a topic, you’re more likely to distinguishbetween concepts so they don’t get confused in yourmemory.10. Counteract the serial position effect.The serial position effect is the tendency to have better recall ofinformation at the beginning and end of a sequence. To counteractthis effect, spend extra time learning the information thatfalls in the middle. Once you’ve mastered a sequence of material,start at a different point each time you review or practice theinformation.11. Use contextual cues to jog memories.Ideally, study in the setting in which you’re going to be tested. Ifthat’s not possible, when you’re taking a test and a specificmemory gets blocked, imagine that your books and notes are infront of you and that you’re sitting where you normally study.Simply imagining the surroundings where you learned the materialcan help jog those memories.12. Use a mnemonic device for remembering lists.A mnemonic device is a method or strategy to aid memory.Some of the most effective mnemonic devices use visualimagery. For example, the method of loci is a mnemonic devicein which you remember items by visualizing them at specificlocations in a familiar setting, such as the different rooms in yourhouse or at specific locations on your way to work or school. Torecall the items, mentally revisit the locations and imagine thespecific item at that location.