Memory Strategies

How many of us complain about “forgetting things” very often? Forgetting names and where you kept the keys plague most of us every day! We question our memory and fear of losing it.

Memory is dynamic and the most complex storage system possible in the world. Its capacity not only differs from person to person but with age too. However, many strategies have been identified to help us improve our memory and recall information irrespective of our IQ levels, age and other influencing factors.

Memory passes through several stages. First, our 5 senses receive sensory information, of which, brain identifies the relevant information and transfers it to the short term memory (STM). In STM, when the brain sends signals about the importance of the information, greater attention is paid to understand the information and if found critical, it is transferred to Long term Memory (LTM). LTM acts as a storehouse from where we remember/retrieve the information.

The transfer of information from STM to LTM is what we can work upon to improve our capacity to retrieve information. This involves appropriate encoding of the information which enables better retrieval. Cognitive Psychologist have suggested few strategies as discussed ahead.

Schema theory: Associating the newly acquired information with an already existing concept helps in creating a strong connection. When we create links between two memories, the more familiar memory becomes a cue to retrieve the new information being learnt. Eg. When you hear the word dragon-fruit for the first time and learn more about it, you associate it with the concept of “fruit”. Associating the words with a concept helps register dragon fruit better than just the word in isolation.

Dual Encoding: This theory suggests that we can encode and retrieve better when we engage two processes of encoding. Eg. Presentation method is used commonly to explain strategies, concepts, etc. This enables two types of encoding of the information, visual – PowerPoint presentation and auditory- narration of the presenter.

Rehearsal: Rehearsal is practicing information over and over again. There are two types of rehearsals

• Rote repetition of the information in STM, like repeating phone number a few dozen times is called Maintenance rehearsal
• Elaborative rehearsal is not based on mere repetition but occurs when the information is expanded, embellished and related to other concepts already in LTM.

Active involvement: Attention is critical for information to get registered in STM transfer it to LTM. Number of distractions in the environment can hinder this process. To ensure greater attention to the information for creating easily retrievable memory, it is important to be actively engaged in learning the information. E.g. Reading important concepts aloud to remember, or learning by doing, having group discussions etc.

Mnemonics: A mnemonic is any learning technique that aids information retention in the human memory. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imagery as specific tools to encode any given information in a way that allows for efficient storage and retrieval. This strategy also aids learning through association. There are various types of mnemonics such as:

• Acronyms – are words made out of first letter of several words. Eg. Colors of rainbow is VIBGYOR (Violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red)
• Acrostics – are sentences with first letter of each word acting as cue to retrieve many words. Eg. phrase, “Roses on yachts grow better in vinegar” can also help remember the colors of rainbow
• Narrative Method- Creating stories to remember list of words.

Eg. To buy pen, cabbage, bread and bucket from the grocery store, one can create a story to limit forgetting, “Child made a hole in the bucket with a blue pen while his mother made cabbage sandwich with freshly baked bread”

Pegword method - This strategy involves first remembering a rhyme that one is familiar with and associating number with words e.g. One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree, and four is a door. Then visualizing each item in your list and associating it with a bun, shoe, tree and door eg. Creating an image of pen inside a bun, shoe on a cabbage, breads hanging on tree and bucket hanging on the door. When one needs to recall the list, first think of a bun, then think about the image associated with it and so forth.

Although, these techniques are simple, they require lots of conscious efforts from an individual. Therefore, it is essential to minimize distractions and actively rehearse the information to create strong neural connections and thereby create a strong memory which is easily retrievable.