“Strengthening Memories Through Memory Lecture 5 “Strengthening Memories Through Association”

The Association Principle Basis for it: Mind will discard info. if there is no __________ (or hook) with which to place it *1st Strategy for Using Association Principle: ____________________ Associate __________________ More you already know about a subj., easier it is to learn more If you know ________ about a topic, it is hard to get started learning about it Process of associating new with old Use any _________ material to help you learn the new, such as ideas, experiences, attitudes, judgments, places, occurrences, people, songs, pictures, #’s, etc.

Some Examples of How to Associate 1. Physics—3rd Law of Motion Associate it with the ____ of a rifle or force of a jet engine 2. History—1st learn a few impt. dates *1066: Battle of Hastings *1492: Columbus *1603: King James Bible *1776: American Revolution *1861-1865: American Civil War You can then remember other historical events by ___________ them with above familiar dates. *French Revolution: happened about 10 yrs. ________ American Revolution *Death of Queen Elizabeth: a few yrs. _____ KJ Bible

When using Association Principle, relate material to __________ contexts… More connections in memory network & stronger these connections are…better chance for ___________ Example: First Amendment to the Constitution Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

How can you associate the concepts of our First Amendment with many aspects of everyday life? Explain it in your own words. Think of 2 examples of activities protected by the First Amendment. 3.Think of 1 example of an activity contrary to the First Amendment. 4.Ponder this: What would happen if there were NO First Amendment? Main point of above exercise…___________ a subj. Immerse yourself in it by picking it apart, examining it, adding to it, and going over it again & again until it becomes ______________ to you!!!

2nd Strategy for Using the Association Principle: ______________ (also called Mnemonic Devices, referred to previously in Lecture 2) Several more examples: To remember the colors of the rainbow (color spectrum) _____________ (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, & Violet) To remember levels of classification in biology for plants/animals: Kings play chess on Fridays, generally speaking. *Use the 1st letter of each word in above sentence to help you remember…kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

One word of warning about mnemonic devices: Only use them IF they are ______________ for you. If they become just 1 more burden for your memory, ________ them or create new ones that suit your learning style!