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

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

3. Some Examples of How to Associate
1. Physics—3rd Law of Motion
Associate it with the kick 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
* : American Civil War
You can then remember other historical events
by associating them with above familiar dates.
*French Revolution: happened about 10 yrs. after
American Revolution
*Death of Queen Elizabeth: a few yrs. before KJ Bible

4. When using Association Principle, relate material to MANY contexts…
More connections in memory network &
stronger these connections are…better
chance for recall
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.

5. 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…OVERLEARN a subj.
Immerse yourself in it by picking it apart,
examining it, adding to it, and going over it again
& again until it becomes 2nd nature to you!!!

6. 2nd Strategy for Using the Association Principle:
ARTIFICIAL (also called Mnemonic Devices,
referred to previously in Lecture 2)
Several more examples:
To remember the colors of the rainbow
(color spectrum)
ROY G. BIV
(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

7. Another clever way to use Artificial Association…
Take the information you want to
memorize and set it to music!
A great example of this can be found
in the following song, which incorporates
ALL the names of the chemical elements
from the Periodic Table.
Tom Lehrer's "The Elements Song"

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