Remembering Everything Improving Memory

Capacity The magical number seven plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information (1956). Phone Number Social Security Number Zip Code

Easy Remembering Recall Recognition What is the capital of France? World Capitals Paris Rome London Moscow Tokyo What is the capital of France? Paris Rome London Moscow

Improving Memory Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate the situation and mood. Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation. Minimize interference: Test your own knowledge. Rehearse and then determine what you do not yet know. Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material. Make material personally meaningful. Use mnemonic devices: associate with peg words — something already stored make up a story chunk — acronyms

Memory Effects Spacing Effect: We retain information better when we rehearse over time. Serial Position Effect: When your recall is better for first and last items on a list, but poor for middle items. Presidential Recall

Memory Devices Imagery Mnemonics mental pictures a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding Memory Aids especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

I’ve Been Working on the Railroad (Melody) I lost my keys somewhere I don’t know where they are I think I put them on a table Right under where the food would be Or maybe they’re in the cupboard Can you please help me find them So I can leave sometime soon

Mnemonic Examples ROY G. BIV = colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.) Charles' Law: For a constant volume, pressure is directly proportional to temperature. The simple way to remember Chuck is if the tank's too hot, you're blown into muck. The order of operations for math is Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, and Subtract = Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. A commonly used Rhyme Mnemonic for the number of days in each month is: 30 days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31 Except February my dear son. It has 28 and that is fine But in Leap Year it has 29.

Organizing Information for Encoding Chunking organizing items into familiar, manageable units like horizontal organization--1776149218121941 often occurs automatically use of acronyms HOMES--Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior Hierarchies complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories

The capacity of the working memory may be increased by “chunking.” FBITWACIAIBM FBI TWA CIA IBM 4 chunks

Memory Devices Memorize a jingle: “one is a bun, two is a shoe…” Method of Loci Peg Word System As an aid to memorizing lengthy speeches, ancient Greek orators would visualize themselves moving through familiar locations Memory Palace Memorize a jingle: “one is a bun, two is a shoe…”

Memory Feats

Activity Build a Memory House Create a memory map using a location that you are familiar with and draw a mental blueprint Build a Memory House

Rock & Roll Singers Madonna Sting Bono Axl Rose Bob Dylan Jimi Hendrix Bruce Springsteen Dave Matthews John Mayer Jason Mraz Eric Clapton Chris Cornell