This exercise will help increase your powers of observation.
Look at a scene in front of you that has a lot of different things in
it. These can be different objects, people who are mostly stationery (i.e.,
sitting down, not a bustling crowd), scenery, etc. Or use a picture of such
a scene. Then, stare at this scene for about a minute, and as you do,
imagine you are taking a picture of it, as if your mind is a camera taking
a snapshot. As you do so, notice as many things about the scene as you
can. Pay attention to forms, colors, the number of objects or people there,
the relationship between things, etc.
Then, look away from that scene, and try to recreate it as accurately
as possible in your mind’s eye. As when you really looked at the scene,
notice the forms, colors, number of objects or people, and the relationship
between things.
Next, to check your accuracy, without looking back, write down a
list of what you saw in as much detail as possible.
Finally, rate your accuracy and your completeness by rating your
observations. To score your level of accuracy, designate each accurate observation
with a 2. Score each inaccurate observation with a 1. Score
each invented observation with a 2. Then, tally up your score and note
the result. To score your level of completeness, estimate the total number
of observations you think were possible in the scene and divide by the
number of observations you made, to get your completeness score. As you
continue to practice with this exercise, you’ll find your score for both
accuracy and completeness should go up. 72
26 Nisan 2011 Salı
Using Clear Memory Pictures or Recordings to Improve Your Memory
Another way to pay closer attention is to make a sharp mental picture
or recording of the person, place, or event you want to remember.
This process will also help you with the second phase of the
memory retention process, where you encode this information using
visual imagery or sounds. But this first phase is what picks up the
information in the first place, much like using a camera or a cassette.
A major factor in poor remembering is that often we don’t make
this picture or recording very well. As a result, we may think we
remember what we have seen, but we don’t. Courtroom witnesses,
for example, often recall an event inaccurately, although they may
be positive they are correct. Accordingly, before you can recall or recognize
something properly in the retrieval stage of the process, you
first must have a clear impression of it.
One way to do this, once you are paying careful attention, is to
think of yourself as a camera or cassette recorder, taking in completely
accurate pictures or recordings of what you are experiencing.
As you observe and listen, make your impressions like pictures or
tape recordings in your mind.
It takes practice to develop this ability, and the following exercises
are designed to help you do this. At first, use these exercises to
get a sense of how well you already remember what you see. Then,
as you practice, you’ll find you can remember more and more details.
The underlying principle of these exercises is to observe some
object, person, event, or setting to take a picture, or listen to a conversation
or other sounds around you. Then, turn away from what
you are observing or stop listening, and recall what you can. Perhaps
write down what you recall. Finally, look back and ask yourself:
‘‘How much did I remember? What did I forget? What did I recall
that wasn’t there?’’
At first, you may be surprised at how bad an observer or listener
you are. But as you practice, you’ll improve—and your skill at remembering
will carry over into other situations, because you’ll automatically start making more accurate memory pictures or recordings
in your mind.
An ideal way to use these techniques is with a mental awareness
trigger. Whenever you use that trigger, you will immediately imagine
yourself as a camera or recorder and indelibly impress that scene on
your mind for later recall.
The next three exercises are designed to give you some practice
in perceiving like a camera or cassette recorder in a private controlled
setting. The fourth exercise is one you can use in any situation to
perceive more effectively.
or recording of the person, place, or event you want to remember.
This process will also help you with the second phase of the
memory retention process, where you encode this information using
visual imagery or sounds. But this first phase is what picks up the
information in the first place, much like using a camera or a cassette.
A major factor in poor remembering is that often we don’t make
this picture or recording very well. As a result, we may think we
remember what we have seen, but we don’t. Courtroom witnesses,
for example, often recall an event inaccurately, although they may
be positive they are correct. Accordingly, before you can recall or recognize
something properly in the retrieval stage of the process, you
first must have a clear impression of it.
One way to do this, once you are paying careful attention, is to
think of yourself as a camera or cassette recorder, taking in completely
accurate pictures or recordings of what you are experiencing.
As you observe and listen, make your impressions like pictures or
tape recordings in your mind.
It takes practice to develop this ability, and the following exercises
are designed to help you do this. At first, use these exercises to
get a sense of how well you already remember what you see. Then,
as you practice, you’ll find you can remember more and more details.
The underlying principle of these exercises is to observe some
object, person, event, or setting to take a picture, or listen to a conversation
or other sounds around you. Then, turn away from what
you are observing or stop listening, and recall what you can. Perhaps
write down what you recall. Finally, look back and ask yourself:
‘‘How much did I remember? What did I forget? What did I recall
that wasn’t there?’’
At first, you may be surprised at how bad an observer or listener
you are. But as you practice, you’ll improve—and your skill at remembering
will carry over into other situations, because you’ll automatically start making more accurate memory pictures or recordings
in your mind.
An ideal way to use these techniques is with a mental awareness
trigger. Whenever you use that trigger, you will immediately imagine
yourself as a camera or recorder and indelibly impress that scene on
your mind for later recall.
The next three exercises are designed to give you some practice
in perceiving like a camera or cassette recorder in a private controlled
setting. The fourth exercise is one you can use in any situation to
perceive more effectively.
Using a Physical Trigger or Motion to Keep Your Attention Focused
To keep yourself from drifting off while you are listening to something
or to keep your mind from wandering while you are observing
or experiencing something, you can use the trigger you have created
or any gesture or physical signal to remind yourself to pay attention
to what you are hearing or seeing.
For example, every 20 or 30 seconds, click your fingers softly,
move a toe, or move another part of your body as a reminder. Once
you decide on the trigger, practice this signal to make the association
with paying attention by repeatedly making this gesture and after
that focus your attention on something. Then, that gesture or motion
will become your trigger to pay attention.
After a while, should your attention drift away, simply repeat
the trigger to bring you back to attention again.
or to keep your mind from wandering while you are observing
or experiencing something, you can use the trigger you have created
or any gesture or physical signal to remind yourself to pay attention
to what you are hearing or seeing.
For example, every 20 or 30 seconds, click your fingers softly,
move a toe, or move another part of your body as a reminder. Once
you decide on the trigger, practice this signal to make the association
with paying attention by repeatedly making this gesture and after
that focus your attention on something. Then, that gesture or motion
will become your trigger to pay attention.
After a while, should your attention drift away, simply repeat
the trigger to bring you back to attention again.
Creating a Memory Trigger to Increase Your Ability to Focus
When you’re in a situation where it’s particularly important to remember
something, you can remind yourself to pay close attention
by using a ‘‘memory trigger.’’ This trigger can be almost any type of
gesture or physical sign—such as bringing your thumb and forefinger
together, clasping your hands so your thumbs and index finger
create a spire, or raising your thumb. Or you could use a mental
statement to remind yourself to pay attention. Whatever signal you
choose, it’s designed to remind you that it’s now time to be especially
alert and listen or watch closely, so you’ll remember all you can. If
you already have a signal you like, use that, or use the following
exercise to create this trigger.
Get relaxed, perhaps close your eyes. Then, ask yourself this question:
‘‘What mental trigger would I like to use to remind myself to pay attention?’’
Notice what comes into your mind. It may be a gesture, a physical
movement, a mental image, or a word or phrase you say to yourself.
Choose that as your trigger.
Now, to give power to this trigger, make the gesture or movement or
let this image or word appear in your mind. Then, as you make this
gesture or observe the image or word, repeatedly use this gesture for a
minute or two, and as you do, say to yourself with increasing intensity:
‘‘I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and aware, and I will lock
this information in my memory so I can recall it later.’’ This process of
using the gesture and paying attention will associate the act of paying
attention with the gesture.
Later (either the same day or the following day if you are beginning
this exercise at night), practice using this trigger in some real-life situations.
Find three or more times when you are especially interested in
remembering something, and use your trigger to make yourself more
alert. For example, when you see something you would especially like to
remember (such as someone on the street, a car on the road, etc.), use
your trigger to remind you to pay attention to it. Afterwards, when whatever
you have seen is gone, replay it mentally in as much detail as possible
to illustrate how much you can remember when you really pay attention.
Initially, to reinforce the association with the sign you have created,
as you make this gesture, repeat the same words to yourself as in your
concentration exercises: ‘‘I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and
aware, and I will lock this information in my memory so I can recall
it later.’’ Then, look or listen attentively to whatever it is you want to
remember.
Repeat both the meditation and the real-life practice for a week to
condition yourself to associate the action you want to perform (paying
attention) with the trigger (raising your thumb, etc.). Once this association
is locked in, continue to use the trigger in real life. As long as you
continue to regularly use the trigger, you don’t need to continue practicing
the exercise, since each time you use the trigger, your attention will be on
high alert.
Then, any time you are in an important situation where you want
to pay especially careful attention (such as a staff meeting or a cocktail
party with prospective clients), use your trigger, and you’ll become more
attentive and alert.
something, you can remind yourself to pay close attention
by using a ‘‘memory trigger.’’ This trigger can be almost any type of
gesture or physical sign—such as bringing your thumb and forefinger
together, clasping your hands so your thumbs and index finger
create a spire, or raising your thumb. Or you could use a mental
statement to remind yourself to pay attention. Whatever signal you
choose, it’s designed to remind you that it’s now time to be especially
alert and listen or watch closely, so you’ll remember all you can. If
you already have a signal you like, use that, or use the following
exercise to create this trigger.
Get relaxed, perhaps close your eyes. Then, ask yourself this question:
‘‘What mental trigger would I like to use to remind myself to pay attention?’’
Notice what comes into your mind. It may be a gesture, a physical
movement, a mental image, or a word or phrase you say to yourself.
Choose that as your trigger.
Now, to give power to this trigger, make the gesture or movement or
let this image or word appear in your mind. Then, as you make this
gesture or observe the image or word, repeatedly use this gesture for a
minute or two, and as you do, say to yourself with increasing intensity:
‘‘I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and aware, and I will lock
this information in my memory so I can recall it later.’’ This process of
using the gesture and paying attention will associate the act of paying
attention with the gesture.
Later (either the same day or the following day if you are beginning
this exercise at night), practice using this trigger in some real-life situations.
Find three or more times when you are especially interested in
remembering something, and use your trigger to make yourself more
alert. For example, when you see something you would especially like to
remember (such as someone on the street, a car on the road, etc.), use
your trigger to remind you to pay attention to it. Afterwards, when whatever
you have seen is gone, replay it mentally in as much detail as possible
to illustrate how much you can remember when you really pay attention.
Initially, to reinforce the association with the sign you have created,
as you make this gesture, repeat the same words to yourself as in your
concentration exercises: ‘‘I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and
aware, and I will lock this information in my memory so I can recall
it later.’’ Then, look or listen attentively to whatever it is you want to
remember.
Repeat both the meditation and the real-life practice for a week to
condition yourself to associate the action you want to perform (paying
attention) with the trigger (raising your thumb, etc.). Once this association
is locked in, continue to use the trigger in real life. As long as you
continue to regularly use the trigger, you don’t need to continue practicing
the exercise, since each time you use the trigger, your attention will be on
high alert.
Then, any time you are in an important situation where you want
to pay especially careful attention (such as a staff meeting or a cocktail
party with prospective clients), use your trigger, and you’ll become more
attentive and alert.
Learning to Pay Attention
The following exercises are designed to help you pay closer attention
to what you do.
to what you do.
Pay Attention!!!
Pay Attention!!!
One reason many people have trouble remembering something is
that they don’t make a clear picture of what they want to remember,
because they don’t pay enough attention in the beginning. The crucial
first step to remembering anything is to PAY ATTENTION. You
have to first take in the information in order to put it in your shortterm
or working memory and later transfer it to your long-term
memory.
Naturally, you can remember all sorts of things without being
particularly attentive, as unconsciously you are absorbing information
all the time and much of this stays with you, even if you are
unaware of it. But, this casual absorption of information can be a hitor-
miss proposition. While you may take in much of this information
unconsciously and may later remember things you didn’t realize you
had even learned, to improve your memory you have to consciously
pay attention. This approach is sometimes referred to as being ‘‘mindful,’’
as opposed to operating on automatic.
Certainly, you want to continue to keep most everyday processes
in your life automatic, since you need to do this to move through
everyday life; you can’t try to pay close attention to everything you
do, since this will slow you down. Yet at the same time, you can
become more aware of what you are doing on automatic and you
can focus more closely on some usually automatic activities. Then,
you can better remember what you want to remember, such as the
names of people you meet at a business mixer or trade show.
One reason many people have trouble remembering something is
that they don’t make a clear picture of what they want to remember,
because they don’t pay enough attention in the beginning. The crucial
first step to remembering anything is to PAY ATTENTION. You
have to first take in the information in order to put it in your shortterm
or working memory and later transfer it to your long-term
memory.
Naturally, you can remember all sorts of things without being
particularly attentive, as unconsciously you are absorbing information
all the time and much of this stays with you, even if you are
unaware of it. But, this casual absorption of information can be a hitor-
miss proposition. While you may take in much of this information
unconsciously and may later remember things you didn’t realize you
had even learned, to improve your memory you have to consciously
pay attention. This approach is sometimes referred to as being ‘‘mindful,’’
as opposed to operating on automatic.
Certainly, you want to continue to keep most everyday processes
in your life automatic, since you need to do this to move through
everyday life; you can’t try to pay close attention to everything you
do, since this will slow you down. Yet at the same time, you can
become more aware of what you are doing on automatic and you
can focus more closely on some usually automatic activities. Then,
you can better remember what you want to remember, such as the
names of people you meet at a business mixer or trade show.
Pay Attention!!!
Pay Attention!!!
One reason many people have trouble remembering something is
that they don’t make a clear picture of what they want to remember,
because they don’t pay enough attention in the beginning. The crucial
first step to remembering anything is to PAY ATTENTION. You
have to first take in the information in order to put it in your shortterm
or working memory and later transfer it to your long-term
memory.
Naturally, you can remember all sorts of things without being
particularly attentive, as unconsciously you are absorbing information
all the time and much of this stays with you, even if you are
unaware of it. But, this casual absorption of information can be a hitor-
miss proposition. While you may take in much of this information
unconsciously and may later remember things you didn’t realize you
had even learned, to improve your memory you have to consciously
pay attention. This approach is sometimes referred to as being ‘‘mindful,’’
as opposed to operating on automatic.
Certainly, you want to continue to keep most everyday processes
in your life automatic, since you need to do this to move through
everyday life; you can’t try to pay close attention to everything you
do, since this will slow you down. Yet at the same time, you can
become more aware of what you are doing on automatic and you
can focus more closely on some usually automatic activities. Then,
you can better remember what you want to remember, such as the
names of people you meet at a business mixer or trade show.
One reason many people have trouble remembering something is
that they don’t make a clear picture of what they want to remember,
because they don’t pay enough attention in the beginning. The crucial
first step to remembering anything is to PAY ATTENTION. You
have to first take in the information in order to put it in your shortterm
or working memory and later transfer it to your long-term
memory.
Naturally, you can remember all sorts of things without being
particularly attentive, as unconsciously you are absorbing information
all the time and much of this stays with you, even if you are
unaware of it. But, this casual absorption of information can be a hitor-
miss proposition. While you may take in much of this information
unconsciously and may later remember things you didn’t realize you
had even learned, to improve your memory you have to consciously
pay attention. This approach is sometimes referred to as being ‘‘mindful,’’
as opposed to operating on automatic.
Certainly, you want to continue to keep most everyday processes
in your life automatic, since you need to do this to move through
everyday life; you can’t try to pay close attention to everything you
do, since this will slow you down. Yet at the same time, you can
become more aware of what you are doing on automatic and you
can focus more closely on some usually automatic activities. Then,
you can better remember what you want to remember, such as the
names of people you meet at a business mixer or trade show.
18 Nisan 2011 Pazartesi
Sample Memory Journal
Here’s an example of how you might keep a memory journal, based
on the first two entries in my own journal. I have used a more narrative
approach in keeping this journal, though later on, I frequently
broke each daily entry into separate categories, as relevant.
June 28, 2006
Now that I started working on this memory book, I began thinking
about paying attention more and thinking of strategies to better memorize
things when I prepared for a potential quiz in a Native American class I’m
taking. We had about 70 pages of creation stories from different tribes to read,
and the stories had a lot of detail. There were also many unfamiliar names,
overlapping storylines, and other things making it hard to remember. I began
thinking of strategies to make it easier for me to remember and thought about
how these might be applicable for others.
• Read once for the general flow of the story and to enjoy it, though I
might bracket major points to review later. Read the story a second
time a day or two later to more closely notice detail (like names of key
characters, title of the story, what group it refers to) and consciously
notice what seems new to me even though I read it before. Then, a day
or two later, skim over the story, paying particular attention to what I
have underlined.
• To remember something even more precisely, I can create a chart with
several columns that highlight the major points to remember. For example,
for these stories, I might use one column with the name of the
story, a second with the major plot line, a third with the names of key
characters, and a fourth column to note special themes, lessons, my
reactions, and any other thoughts I have about the story.
I also had a conversation about the class with one of the other students,
and she mentioned the difficulty she had remembering the stories. She had
read the stories the day after our weekly class, but then she didn’t remember
what she had read in the class. She didn’t even remember having read the
stories at all. Based on my own experience of reading each story two or three
times—and the last time, the day before the class—her account suggests that
it is better to wait until shortly before you have to remember something and
allow the time to read it by then; or use the multiple reading and review
process I used.
I also recalled how I found it helpful to recall unfamiliar names by not
only seeing them visually, but by saying them over in my mind a few times,
so I would learn the new information through multiple channels.* Another
technique that I found helpful is mentally reviewing what I have read, which
also applies to what I have seen or experienced. I just repeat in my mind or
use self-talk to tell myself what I want to remember. This way I reinforce my
initial information input.
June 29, 2006
As I drove home from school today I began to think of different types of
memory exercises, based on noticing things and paying attention. For example,
these exercises, which I can do by myself or with others, include:
• Looking at cards with multiple images where you have to notice what’s
different.
• Observing a scene closely on a card or in reality; then you see the same
scene again with something removed. Your job is to notice what’s missing.
In turn, this exercise might help you pay attention to what’s there.
• Observing a scene closely as above, except that instead of noticing
what’s missing, you have to notice and identify what has been added
to the scene. Again, another exercise to help in paying attention.
*Though I didn’t yet know about the different aspects of the working memory, this
would be a good example of improving one’s memory by reinforcing it through
rehearsal and repetition, and using both imagery through the visuospatial sortbox
and words through the phonological loop to drive these names into my long-term
memory.
• Imagining yourself taking a series of pictures of the scene; then you
recall as many objects you saw in the scene without looking, and later
check your recollection.
• Having a mental conversation about what you just did or learned;
imagine you are telling yourself or a friend what you just experienced,
or imagine you are a teacher instructing your class.
• Reflecting on what you have learned or your experience, and consider
what it means to you and how you can use this information.
I also thought about some of the main principles of memory and how
they might provide a frame of things to do for the next week. The key ones
are:
• Being well rested and alert (preparatory)
• Paying attention—and paying attention to yourself paying attention
(so you get the information into your working memory)
• Creating keys to help you pay attention (such as name triggers, mnemonics)
• Recording what you are paying attention to, such as through writing
or drawing, to intensify what you are taking in
• Using techniques to make what you have seen or experienced stand
out, such as imagining you are a camera taking pictures of a scene;
imagining you are a tape recorder recording a conversation
• Using associations with what you have seen/read/experienced, such
as images for names, places
• Reviewing what you have taken in
• Participating in activities to reinforce what you have learned
• Prioritizing what you have taken in, so you focus on what is more
important
• Categorizing and grouping what you have learned, so you can better
recall it, since we generally only can take in 7 bits of information (plus
or minus 2) together
• Sharing what you have observed, read about, or experienced with others,
since that intensifies the experience
• Keeping a written record, like this memory journal, to notice what you
remember more effectively and what you don’t, so you can increasingly
apply what works in the future
Similarly, you can develop your own memory journal, where you
record what you experienced and what’s important to you, along
with your ideas on what to do to improve your own memory. You’ll
see many techniques in this book. But as you keep your journal,
you may come up with your own ideas for what you need to better
remember and what you might do to increase your memory power. 68
on the first two entries in my own journal. I have used a more narrative
approach in keeping this journal, though later on, I frequently
broke each daily entry into separate categories, as relevant.
June 28, 2006
Now that I started working on this memory book, I began thinking
about paying attention more and thinking of strategies to better memorize
things when I prepared for a potential quiz in a Native American class I’m
taking. We had about 70 pages of creation stories from different tribes to read,
and the stories had a lot of detail. There were also many unfamiliar names,
overlapping storylines, and other things making it hard to remember. I began
thinking of strategies to make it easier for me to remember and thought about
how these might be applicable for others.
• Read once for the general flow of the story and to enjoy it, though I
might bracket major points to review later. Read the story a second
time a day or two later to more closely notice detail (like names of key
characters, title of the story, what group it refers to) and consciously
notice what seems new to me even though I read it before. Then, a day
or two later, skim over the story, paying particular attention to what I
have underlined.
• To remember something even more precisely, I can create a chart with
several columns that highlight the major points to remember. For example,
for these stories, I might use one column with the name of the
story, a second with the major plot line, a third with the names of key
characters, and a fourth column to note special themes, lessons, my
reactions, and any other thoughts I have about the story.
I also had a conversation about the class with one of the other students,
and she mentioned the difficulty she had remembering the stories. She had
read the stories the day after our weekly class, but then she didn’t remember
what she had read in the class. She didn’t even remember having read the
stories at all. Based on my own experience of reading each story two or three
times—and the last time, the day before the class—her account suggests that
it is better to wait until shortly before you have to remember something and
allow the time to read it by then; or use the multiple reading and review
process I used.
I also recalled how I found it helpful to recall unfamiliar names by not
only seeing them visually, but by saying them over in my mind a few times,
so I would learn the new information through multiple channels.* Another
technique that I found helpful is mentally reviewing what I have read, which
also applies to what I have seen or experienced. I just repeat in my mind or
use self-talk to tell myself what I want to remember. This way I reinforce my
initial information input.
June 29, 2006
As I drove home from school today I began to think of different types of
memory exercises, based on noticing things and paying attention. For example,
these exercises, which I can do by myself or with others, include:
• Looking at cards with multiple images where you have to notice what’s
different.
• Observing a scene closely on a card or in reality; then you see the same
scene again with something removed. Your job is to notice what’s missing.
In turn, this exercise might help you pay attention to what’s there.
• Observing a scene closely as above, except that instead of noticing
what’s missing, you have to notice and identify what has been added
to the scene. Again, another exercise to help in paying attention.
*Though I didn’t yet know about the different aspects of the working memory, this
would be a good example of improving one’s memory by reinforcing it through
rehearsal and repetition, and using both imagery through the visuospatial sortbox
and words through the phonological loop to drive these names into my long-term
memory.
• Imagining yourself taking a series of pictures of the scene; then you
recall as many objects you saw in the scene without looking, and later
check your recollection.
• Having a mental conversation about what you just did or learned;
imagine you are telling yourself or a friend what you just experienced,
or imagine you are a teacher instructing your class.
• Reflecting on what you have learned or your experience, and consider
what it means to you and how you can use this information.
I also thought about some of the main principles of memory and how
they might provide a frame of things to do for the next week. The key ones
are:
• Being well rested and alert (preparatory)
• Paying attention—and paying attention to yourself paying attention
(so you get the information into your working memory)
• Creating keys to help you pay attention (such as name triggers, mnemonics)
• Recording what you are paying attention to, such as through writing
or drawing, to intensify what you are taking in
• Using techniques to make what you have seen or experienced stand
out, such as imagining you are a camera taking pictures of a scene;
imagining you are a tape recorder recording a conversation
• Using associations with what you have seen/read/experienced, such
as images for names, places
• Reviewing what you have taken in
• Participating in activities to reinforce what you have learned
• Prioritizing what you have taken in, so you focus on what is more
important
• Categorizing and grouping what you have learned, so you can better
recall it, since we generally only can take in 7 bits of information (plus
or minus 2) together
• Sharing what you have observed, read about, or experienced with others,
since that intensifies the experience
• Keeping a written record, like this memory journal, to notice what you
remember more effectively and what you don’t, so you can increasingly
apply what works in the future
Similarly, you can develop your own memory journal, where you
record what you experienced and what’s important to you, along
with your ideas on what to do to improve your own memory. You’ll
see many techniques in this book. But as you keep your journal,
you may come up with your own ideas for what you need to better
remember and what you might do to increase your memory power. 68
10 Nisan 2011 Pazar
How to Use the Journal to Improve Your Progress
As you keep notes about what and how you remember in your journal,
you can use this to guide what you do.
For example, suppose you note that you have had trouble remembering
names at events you attend. That will suggest that you
target this area of memory to work on. Or suppose you notice a pattern
that you are forgetting things more at certain times of the day.
This might suggest that you are more tired and less attentive at this
time. You need either to take steps to up your energy (say, getting
more sleep or eating an energy snack around that time each day) or
to recognize that your memory ability is less sharp at this time, so
you find another time to seek to learn something new if you can. In
short, use what you learn about your memory powers as you keep
your journal to determine what you need to work on or when your
memory powers are at a lower ebb.
Conversely, if you note memory successes, take some time to
congratulate and reward yourself, which will help to keep you motivated
to continue to improve. When you see signs of your success
and are rewarded for them, you’ll feel even better about what you
are doing to increase your memory. For example, say after a history
of not remembering the names of most of the people you meet at a
business mixer, you consciously work on encoding those names into
your memory and find you are better able to make them part of your
long-term memory, so you can recall much more—from the details
of what they do to what you need to do to follow up with each
person. That’s great! A terrific achievement! So acknowledge this to
yourself and give yourself some reward, such as praising yourself,
patting yourself on the back, treating yourself to a coffee latte, or
giving yourself a star or blue ribbon. This way you recognize your
progress and keep yourself going to the next level of improvement.
A good way to use rewards is to provide a small amount of praise
or give a small reward to yourself after a day of good progress. But
make the reward even bigger for your achievements for the week.
Then, after 30 days, go all out to reward yourself as well as clearly
indicate where you have made your progress. This will show that
you have completed 30 days to a better memory successfully—then
you can sign on for another 30 days to work on making even more
improvements. 64
you can use this to guide what you do.
For example, suppose you note that you have had trouble remembering
names at events you attend. That will suggest that you
target this area of memory to work on. Or suppose you notice a pattern
that you are forgetting things more at certain times of the day.
This might suggest that you are more tired and less attentive at this
time. You need either to take steps to up your energy (say, getting
more sleep or eating an energy snack around that time each day) or
to recognize that your memory ability is less sharp at this time, so
you find another time to seek to learn something new if you can. In
short, use what you learn about your memory powers as you keep
your journal to determine what you need to work on or when your
memory powers are at a lower ebb.
Conversely, if you note memory successes, take some time to
congratulate and reward yourself, which will help to keep you motivated
to continue to improve. When you see signs of your success
and are rewarded for them, you’ll feel even better about what you
are doing to increase your memory. For example, say after a history
of not remembering the names of most of the people you meet at a
business mixer, you consciously work on encoding those names into
your memory and find you are better able to make them part of your
long-term memory, so you can recall much more—from the details
of what they do to what you need to do to follow up with each
person. That’s great! A terrific achievement! So acknowledge this to
yourself and give yourself some reward, such as praising yourself,
patting yourself on the back, treating yourself to a coffee latte, or
giving yourself a star or blue ribbon. This way you recognize your
progress and keep yourself going to the next level of improvement.
A good way to use rewards is to provide a small amount of praise
or give a small reward to yourself after a day of good progress. But
make the reward even bigger for your achievements for the week.
Then, after 30 days, go all out to reward yourself as well as clearly
indicate where you have made your progress. This will show that
you have completed 30 days to a better memory successfully—then
you can sign on for another 30 days to work on making even more
improvements. 64
How to Set Up Your Memory Journal
Set up your journal like a diary or chronology in which you make
entries in your diary each day—or even several times a day, as you
get ideas related to your memory. You might even consider including
the parts of your journal you want to share on a blog. You might
even add a section on this to your blog, if you are writing a blog on
your own Website or on one of the popular sites for blogging. If you
do turn this into a blog or something you share with others, be sure
you feel comfortable with others reading what you post. If not, consider
just posting those parts of your journal anyone can read and
keep the other parts offline. A good way to make the distinction is
to keep personal observations and thoughts about yourself in your
private offline journal; but if you have any insights about what you
can do to improve your memory—which could be useful for anyone
else—by all means, post them for all to see.
To make your journal more helpful to you, divide it up into a
series of sections, such as listed below, so you have a series of goals
for developing your memory, keep track of your successes in remembering
different types of information, and note when you experience
memory lapses. This way you can notice trends in your ability to
remember over time, chart improvements and continuing challenges,
and record insights. You can turn this study of your own
memory into a chart, with a column for each section.
For example, in your notebook you might have these sections:
1. My overall goal (i.e., what you hope to achieve by the end of
30 days).
2. My goals for today (i.e., the areas of memory improvement
you are focusing on now).
3. My memory successes (i.e., specific incidents, experiences,
and observations where you enjoyed a notable, outstanding,
or unexpected success).
4. My memory lapses (i.e., specific times when you found you
weren’t able to recall or recognize something at all or where
you remembered it incorrectly).
5. Trends and patterns (i.e., types of things you are likely to remember,
types of things you find you often forget or remember
incorrectly).
6. Memory improvements (i.e., things you find you can remember
now that you didn’t before).
7. Memory challenges (i.e., things that you are continuing to
find especially difficult to remember).
8. Memory insights (i.e., ideas and tips you have gained from
your own experiences in trying to remember things or in
keeping this journal, plus ideas and tips you have gained from
your reading or from others—including talking to people or
from radio or TV).
If you turn this into a chart, such as by creating a table in Word
or an Excel chart, make each of the above categories a column
header.
Then, enter what you feel is most relevant each day, and use
these categories to help focus your attention on different aspects of
your memory development. You can also use this journal to direct
your attention to what you consider the most important areas to
work on, so you can better plan and prioritize what to do. In effect,
you are using your central executive function, which you read about
in Chapter 1, to recall and think about what you have and haven’t
remembered and decide what to do about this so in the future you
remember more.
While the above sections may be a helpful way to divide up the
study of your own memory, as an alternative, you can make entries
in your journal as a narrative, just keeping those categories in mind
so you can incorporate these different topics in your journal as you
write.
Most importantly, write in your journal each day if you can, since
this way you can better chart your progress and stay focused on what
you need to do to improve. Then, too, you will be able to better remember
what happened on a day-by-day basis; otherwise, your images
and impressions from each successive day will interfere with
you remembering what you did the day before. You know the feeling.
Someone asks you what you did during your lunch break yesterday,
and you very likely have trouble remembering exactly what you
did—unless it was something dramatic that cut through the clutter
of many thousands of sensory inputs and memories for each day,
like observing a fight between two women in the supermarket while
you were waiting on line.
If you do skip a day, return to writing your journal as soon as
you can and try to recall what happened the day before, along with
your thoughts and insights from those experiences.
entries in your diary each day—or even several times a day, as you
get ideas related to your memory. You might even consider including
the parts of your journal you want to share on a blog. You might
even add a section on this to your blog, if you are writing a blog on
your own Website or on one of the popular sites for blogging. If you
do turn this into a blog or something you share with others, be sure
you feel comfortable with others reading what you post. If not, consider
just posting those parts of your journal anyone can read and
keep the other parts offline. A good way to make the distinction is
to keep personal observations and thoughts about yourself in your
private offline journal; but if you have any insights about what you
can do to improve your memory—which could be useful for anyone
else—by all means, post them for all to see.
To make your journal more helpful to you, divide it up into a
series of sections, such as listed below, so you have a series of goals
for developing your memory, keep track of your successes in remembering
different types of information, and note when you experience
memory lapses. This way you can notice trends in your ability to
remember over time, chart improvements and continuing challenges,
and record insights. You can turn this study of your own
memory into a chart, with a column for each section.
For example, in your notebook you might have these sections:
1. My overall goal (i.e., what you hope to achieve by the end of
30 days).
2. My goals for today (i.e., the areas of memory improvement
you are focusing on now).
3. My memory successes (i.e., specific incidents, experiences,
and observations where you enjoyed a notable, outstanding,
or unexpected success).
4. My memory lapses (i.e., specific times when you found you
weren’t able to recall or recognize something at all or where
you remembered it incorrectly).
5. Trends and patterns (i.e., types of things you are likely to remember,
types of things you find you often forget or remember
incorrectly).
6. Memory improvements (i.e., things you find you can remember
now that you didn’t before).
7. Memory challenges (i.e., things that you are continuing to
find especially difficult to remember).
8. Memory insights (i.e., ideas and tips you have gained from
your own experiences in trying to remember things or in
keeping this journal, plus ideas and tips you have gained from
your reading or from others—including talking to people or
from radio or TV).
If you turn this into a chart, such as by creating a table in Word
or an Excel chart, make each of the above categories a column
header.
Then, enter what you feel is most relevant each day, and use
these categories to help focus your attention on different aspects of
your memory development. You can also use this journal to direct
your attention to what you consider the most important areas to
work on, so you can better plan and prioritize what to do. In effect,
you are using your central executive function, which you read about
in Chapter 1, to recall and think about what you have and haven’t
remembered and decide what to do about this so in the future you
remember more.
While the above sections may be a helpful way to divide up the
study of your own memory, as an alternative, you can make entries
in your journal as a narrative, just keeping those categories in mind
so you can incorporate these different topics in your journal as you
write.
Most importantly, write in your journal each day if you can, since
this way you can better chart your progress and stay focused on what
you need to do to improve. Then, too, you will be able to better remember
what happened on a day-by-day basis; otherwise, your images
and impressions from each successive day will interfere with
you remembering what you did the day before. You know the feeling.
Someone asks you what you did during your lunch break yesterday,
and you very likely have trouble remembering exactly what you
did—unless it was something dramatic that cut through the clutter
of many thousands of sensory inputs and memories for each day,
like observing a fight between two women in the supermarket while
you were waiting on line.
If you do skip a day, return to writing your journal as soon as
you can and try to recall what happened the day before, along with
your thoughts and insights from those experiences.
Creating a Memory Journal
The first step in your 30-day memory plan should be creating a memory
journal in which you think about what you remembered, what
you didn’t remember, notice patterns, and start to pay increased attention
to things. This way you create a baseline for where you are
now and can track your progress as you move to where you want to
be. Since a first step to remembering anything is paying attention
(apart from being in good health, getting a good night’s sleep so
you’re alert, and otherwise having your mental equipment tuned up
to remember), being attentive to your memory processes will help
you focus on remembering more.
So devote your first week to paying attention and upping your
awareness of when and how you remember. Besides setting up the
journal, described in this chapter, devote this week to some attention
exercises to help you pay more attention. Then, as you develop this
habit it will carry over into your everyday life.
journal in which you think about what you remembered, what
you didn’t remember, notice patterns, and start to pay increased attention
to things. This way you create a baseline for where you are
now and can track your progress as you move to where you want to
be. Since a first step to remembering anything is paying attention
(apart from being in good health, getting a good night’s sleep so
you’re alert, and otherwise having your mental equipment tuned up
to remember), being attentive to your memory processes will help
you focus on remembering more.
So devote your first week to paying attention and upping your
awareness of when and how you remember. Besides setting up the
journal, described in this chapter, devote this week to some attention
exercises to help you pay more attention. Then, as you develop this
habit it will carry over into your everyday life.
3 Nisan 2011 Pazar
Summing Up
So there you have it, a series of quizzes to test your memory for
different types of information—from everyday experiences and observations
to words, faces, and images. In fact, just taking the quizzes
will help you think more about using your memory, which will
contribute to your ability to observe and pay attention and therefore
better encode information.
Compare your scores on different quizzes, too, to notice where
you have a better memory ability and where you have more difficulty
remembering. These differences will help you know where you already
excel and where you need to improve in the future. For example,
you may be much better at remembering what you observe
compared to words or numbers. In turn, these differences may reflect
what has been more important to you in your life. But as you
concentrate on improving your memory in other areas, you should
begin noticing improvements there, too. 60
different types of information—from everyday experiences and observations
to words, faces, and images. In fact, just taking the quizzes
will help you think more about using your memory, which will
contribute to your ability to observe and pay attention and therefore
better encode information.
Compare your scores on different quizzes, too, to notice where
you have a better memory ability and where you have more difficulty
remembering. These differences will help you know where you already
excel and where you need to improve in the future. For example,
you may be much better at remembering what you observe
compared to words or numbers. In turn, these differences may reflect
what has been more important to you in your life. But as you
concentrate on improving your memory in other areas, you should
begin noticing improvements there, too. 60
Test #7B: How Much Did You See?
Here’s a test where you look at a room or some people doing something
and try to remember everything you see there. In fact, you can
create your own test for this—just go into a room or observe any
group of people, look away, and see how much detail you can remember.
You’ll see two similar images for your initial test and your test
after 30 days. In each case, look at the image for 1 minute, look
away, and write down as many things as you remember. Then, look
back at the image and see how many things you have remembered
correctly. Score 1 point for each item you correctly remember; deduct
1 point for each item you incorrectly recorded or omitted completely.
Then, compare your current and 30 days later scores. While the
scenes to look at are slightly different, they are of similar types of
scenes for the two time periods.
and try to remember everything you see there. In fact, you can
create your own test for this—just go into a room or observe any
group of people, look away, and see how much detail you can remember.
You’ll see two similar images for your initial test and your test
after 30 days. In each case, look at the image for 1 minute, look
away, and write down as many things as you remember. Then, look
back at the image and see how many things you have remembered
correctly. Score 1 point for each item you correctly remember; deduct
1 point for each item you incorrectly recorded or omitted completely.
Then, compare your current and 30 days later scores. While the
scenes to look at are slightly different, they are of similar types of
scenes for the two time periods.
30 Mart 2011 Çarşamba
Test #7A: Draw It
See how long you can retain a visual image. You can do this as a series
of tests or you can draw two, three, or four images at the same time.
Look at each image below for 30 seconds and remember as much
as you can. Then, close the book and try to draw it from memory.
Next, without looking back at the image or your drawing, do something
else for 30 minutes and try to draw it again. Compare your two
drawings to the original to see how much you remember. Then, try
the same test 30 days later and see how your second set of drawings
compare to your first test. 57
of tests or you can draw two, three, or four images at the same time.
Look at each image below for 30 seconds and remember as much
as you can. Then, close the book and try to draw it from memory.
Next, without looking back at the image or your drawing, do something
else for 30 minutes and try to draw it again. Compare your two
drawings to the original to see how much you remember. Then, try
the same test 30 days later and see how your second set of drawings
compare to your first test. 57
Remembering Images
Finally, how well do you remember what you see? To test yourself,
the first is a recall test where you draw as much as you can remember.
The second is a recognition test, in which you try to remember
which images you saw before and what’s missing.
the first is a recall test where you draw as much as you can remember.
The second is a recognition test, in which you try to remember
which images you saw before and what’s missing.
Test #6: Faces and Names
Look at the following set of faces for 4 or 5 minutes; then cover it
up, and see how much you can remember in the second set. Take
this as an immediate or delayed memory test, as you choose.
After you fill in as much information as you can for the faces
that were in the first test, give yourself 1 point for each correct face
recognition, 1 point for the correct name, and 1 point for the correct
occupation. Subtract 3 points for each face you incorrectly identify
as having been in the first test. Then, try this test again in 30 days,
and compare the results. Make sure to write down whether you took
this test immediately or after a delay, so that when you repeat the
test, you use the same conditions.
up, and see how much you can remember in the second set. Take
this as an immediate or delayed memory test, as you choose.
After you fill in as much information as you can for the faces
that were in the first test, give yourself 1 point for each correct face
recognition, 1 point for the correct name, and 1 point for the correct
occupation. Subtract 3 points for each face you incorrectly identify
as having been in the first test. Then, try this test again in 30 days,
and compare the results. Make sure to write down whether you took
this test immediately or after a delay, so that when you repeat the
test, you use the same conditions.
Remembering Faces and Names
How well are you able to remember faces and the names and occupations
that go with them? In the following test, you’ll see a dozen
faces with the information about them. Then, you’ll see a set of faces
that includes most of the faces you have seen. How well do you remember
if you have seen that face and how well do you remember
what you know about that person?
that go with them? In the following test, you’ll see a dozen
faces with the information about them. Then, you’ll see a set of faces
that includes most of the faces you have seen. How well do you remember
if you have seen that face and how well do you remember
what you know about that person?
Remembering Numbers
How good are you at remembering phone numbers, bank account
numbers, passwords, and other sets of numbers and letters? Here’s
a chance to test yourself in the following tests, where you have an
increasing number of numbers to remember. To do the test, look at
the initial list for 1 minute, then close the book and try to recall as
much as you can, using an immediate or delayed recall test. Write
down what you recall, and afterwards compare it to what’s in the
book. Give yourself 1 point for each number or letter in its correct
place in the sequence.
numbers, passwords, and other sets of numbers and letters? Here’s
a chance to test yourself in the following tests, where you have an
increasing number of numbers to remember. To do the test, look at
the initial list for 1 minute, then close the book and try to recall as
much as you can, using an immediate or delayed recall test. Write
down what you recall, and afterwards compare it to what’s in the
book. Give yourself 1 point for each number or letter in its correct
place in the sequence.
Test #4A: Lists
Take a minute to review the list and remember as much as you can.
Then, close the book and write down whatever you remember in
sequence. Give yourself 1 point for each item you remember on the
list—until you miss an item. Take this as either an immediate recall
test, or as a delayed recall test, where you do something else for 20
minutes and don’t think of anything on the test. In either case, use
the same timing—immediate or delayed—when you retake the test
using the list in Set 2, and compare how well you did after working
on memory improvement for 30 days.
Then, close the book and write down whatever you remember in
sequence. Give yourself 1 point for each item you remember on the
list—until you miss an item. Take this as either an immediate recall
test, or as a delayed recall test, where you do something else for 20
minutes and don’t think of anything on the test. In either case, use
the same timing—immediate or delayed—when you retake the test
using the list in Set 2, and compare how well you did after working
on memory improvement for 30 days.
Remembering Lists and Directions
Following are some tests for remembering lists, such as a shopping
list, and directions. How well can you recall what’s on the list? Sure
you can write down what you want to remember, but what if you
lose the list? Or what if someone gives you directions on the telephone
and you can’t write them down? Not only do you have to
remember the directions themselves, but it’s crucial to remember
them in the proper order.
list, and directions. How well can you recall what’s on the list? Sure
you can write down what you want to remember, but what if you
lose the list? Or what if someone gives you directions on the telephone
and you can’t write them down? Not only do you have to
remember the directions themselves, but it’s crucial to remember
them in the proper order.
28 Mart 2011 Pazartesi
Test #3B: Delayed Recognition
Now how well can you recognize what you saw when they are mixed
in with other words that you didn’t see before when you engage in
another activity before seeing what you can recognize? Take a
minute to look at the left-hand column of the following first list of
words; then cover up these words with a sheet of paper. But before
you do the recognition test with the second list, do something else
for 20 minutes. Again do whatever you want, such as taking a walk,
reading a newspaper, having a snack, or shooting baskets in your
backyard. Just don’t think about the words on the word list. Then,
for the test, look at the left-hand column of the second list directly
below it and check off which words you just saw on the first list.
When you finish, look at the first list again, score 1 point for each
word you recognized correctly, subtract 1 point for each incorrect
word, and total your score. Then, compare your results with the immediate
recognition test. Generally, you will recognize less accurately
than when you immediately tried to recognize the words. This
will give you a general sense of your ability to retain information in
your working memory and how quickly you forget. At the end of 30
days, repeat the test with the first list of words in the right-hand
column (Set 2) and the words in the second list, directly below it.
DELAYED RECOGNITION TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
First List First List
Gun Planet
Stairway Rice
Campsite Candy
Log Frog
Branch Stream
Paper Hole
Notebook Bandage
Chair Hammer
Radio Roof
Bank Color
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Second List Second List
(Which words from the first list are on this?) (Which words from the first list are on this?)
Rifle Stream
Stairway Planet
Radio Harp
Lantern Card
Donkey Candy
Branch Wind
Briefcase Hammer
Lamp Closet
River Purple
Paper Hole 50
in with other words that you didn’t see before when you engage in
another activity before seeing what you can recognize? Take a
minute to look at the left-hand column of the following first list of
words; then cover up these words with a sheet of paper. But before
you do the recognition test with the second list, do something else
for 20 minutes. Again do whatever you want, such as taking a walk,
reading a newspaper, having a snack, or shooting baskets in your
backyard. Just don’t think about the words on the word list. Then,
for the test, look at the left-hand column of the second list directly
below it and check off which words you just saw on the first list.
When you finish, look at the first list again, score 1 point for each
word you recognized correctly, subtract 1 point for each incorrect
word, and total your score. Then, compare your results with the immediate
recognition test. Generally, you will recognize less accurately
than when you immediately tried to recognize the words. This
will give you a general sense of your ability to retain information in
your working memory and how quickly you forget. At the end of 30
days, repeat the test with the first list of words in the right-hand
column (Set 2) and the words in the second list, directly below it.
DELAYED RECOGNITION TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
First List First List
Gun Planet
Stairway Rice
Campsite Candy
Log Frog
Branch Stream
Paper Hole
Notebook Bandage
Chair Hammer
Radio Roof
Bank Color
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Second List Second List
(Which words from the first list are on this?) (Which words from the first list are on this?)
Rifle Stream
Stairway Planet
Radio Harp
Lantern Card
Donkey Candy
Branch Wind
Briefcase Hammer
Lamp Closet
River Purple
Paper Hole 50
Test #3A: Immediate Recognition
Take a minute to look at the left-hand column (Set 1) of the following
first list of words; then cover up these words with a sheet of
paper, and look at the left-hand column of the second list, directly
below it. Check off which words you just saw on the first list. When
you finish, look at the first list again, score 1 point for each word you
recognized correctly, subtract 1 point for each incorrect word, and
total your score. At the end of 30 days, repeat the test with the words
in the first list in the right-hand column (Set 2) and the words in
the second list, directly below it.
IMMEDIATE RECOGNITION TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
First List First List
Camel Jury
Cigarette Building
Sword House
Mule Cement
Book Flower
Floor Timer
Garden Pot
Tent Stove
Post Cord
Attic Fireplace
Second List Second List
(Which words from the first list are on this?) (Which words from the first list are on this?)
Cigar Clock
Horse House
Garden Jury
Stick Oven
Floor Fire
Post Cord
Sword Daisy
Wallet Cement
Book Ocean
Film Pot
first list of words; then cover up these words with a sheet of
paper, and look at the left-hand column of the second list, directly
below it. Check off which words you just saw on the first list. When
you finish, look at the first list again, score 1 point for each word you
recognized correctly, subtract 1 point for each incorrect word, and
total your score. At the end of 30 days, repeat the test with the words
in the first list in the right-hand column (Set 2) and the words in
the second list, directly below it.
IMMEDIATE RECOGNITION TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
First List First List
Camel Jury
Cigarette Building
Sword House
Mule Cement
Book Flower
Floor Timer
Garden Pot
Tent Stove
Post Cord
Attic Fireplace
Second List Second List
(Which words from the first list are on this?) (Which words from the first list are on this?)
Cigar Clock
Horse House
Garden Jury
Stick Oven
Floor Fire
Post Cord
Sword Daisy
Wallet Cement
Book Ocean
Film Pot
Recognizing Words with Interference
How well can you recognize words that you saw when they are
mixed in with other words that you didn’t see before?
mixed in with other words that you didn’t see before?
27 Mart 2011 Pazar
Test #2B: Delayed Recall
Now see how well you can do when you engage in another activity
before testing your recall. As in the first test, take a minute to look
at the following list of words, then close the book. But before you try
to recall, do something else for 20 minutes. Do whatever you want,
such as taking a walk, reading a newspaper, having a snack, or
shooting baskets in your backyard. Just don’t think about the words
on the word list. Then, see how many words you can write down
correctly from your memory in a minute or two. As before, when you
finish, look in the book and score 1 point for each correct word,
subtract 1 point for each incorrect word, and total your score. Compare
your results with the immediate recall test. Generally, you will
recall less than when you immediately tried to recall the words. This
will give you a general sense of your ability to retain information in
your working memory and how quickly you forget.
DELAYED RECALL TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Bathtub Door
Computer Elephant
Printer Cow
Desk Snow
File Cabinet Mirror
Car Tree
Motorcycle Rose
Road River
Sign Fountain
Window Bucket 47
before testing your recall. As in the first test, take a minute to look
at the following list of words, then close the book. But before you try
to recall, do something else for 20 minutes. Do whatever you want,
such as taking a walk, reading a newspaper, having a snack, or
shooting baskets in your backyard. Just don’t think about the words
on the word list. Then, see how many words you can write down
correctly from your memory in a minute or two. As before, when you
finish, look in the book and score 1 point for each correct word,
subtract 1 point for each incorrect word, and total your score. Compare
your results with the immediate recall test. Generally, you will
recall less than when you immediately tried to recall the words. This
will give you a general sense of your ability to retain information in
your working memory and how quickly you forget.
DELAYED RECALL TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Bathtub Door
Computer Elephant
Printer Cow
Desk Snow
File Cabinet Mirror
Car Tree
Motorcycle Rose
Road River
Sign Fountain
Window Bucket 47
Test #2A: Immediate Recall
Take a minute to look at the following list of words; then close the
book, and see how many you can write down correctly from your
memory in a minute or two. Then, when you finish, look in the book
and score 1 point for each correct word, subtract 1 point for each
incorrect word, and total your score.
IMMEDIATE RECALL TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Pencil Animal
Wood Fox
House Court
Book Movie
Television Pen
Box Circle
Lamp Elevator
Couch Farm
Night Factory
Moon Wall
book, and see how many you can write down correctly from your
memory in a minute or two. Then, when you finish, look in the book
and score 1 point for each correct word, subtract 1 point for each
incorrect word, and total your score.
IMMEDIATE RECALL TEST
Set 1: To Test Yourself Now Set 2: To Test Yourself in 30 Days
Pencil Animal
Wood Fox
House Court
Book Movie
Television Pen
Box Circle
Lamp Elevator
Couch Farm
Night Factory
Moon Wall
24 Mart 2011 Perşembe
Remembering Random Words
This is a classic test that memory researchers use—you are presented
with a list of random words (or words in a certain category), and
then you have to recall as many as you can, or you have to recognize
whether they are in another list. Here are series of word tests, and
you can easily have a friend or associate come up with additional
word tests for you. See how well you can do under different conditions.
There are two sets—one to test yourself now, the other to test
yourself later. Get a sheet of paper and a pencil to write down your
answers and scores. 46
with a list of random words (or words in a certain category), and
then you have to recall as many as you can, or you have to recognize
whether they are in another list. Here are series of word tests, and
you can easily have a friend or associate come up with additional
word tests for you. See how well you can do under different conditions.
There are two sets—one to test yourself now, the other to test
yourself later. Get a sheet of paper and a pencil to write down your
answers and scores. 46
Objective Tests of Your Different Memory Abilities
The following objective tests are other ways of testing your memory
for different types of information. Some of these tests will also show
how well you can avoid interference from similar types of information.
Again, determine your scores now, and test yourself a second
time in 30 days to see your progress. And if you continue to work on
improving your memory, try testing yourself every 30 days. To avoid
the effect of remembering what you have previously learned from a
test, test yourself with an alternate version of the test (such as new
sets of words and faces). You can use Set 2 for your second test or
work with a friend or associate to create another version of the test
for each other. (For example, ask a friend to come up with a list of
10 random words for you to remember.)
for different types of information. Some of these tests will also show
how well you can avoid interference from similar types of information.
Again, determine your scores now, and test yourself a second
time in 30 days to see your progress. And if you continue to work on
improving your memory, try testing yourself every 30 days. To avoid
the effect of remembering what you have previously learned from a
test, test yourself with an alternate version of the test (such as new
sets of words and faces). You can use Set 2 for your second test or
work with a friend or associate to create another version of the test
for each other. (For example, ask a friend to come up with a list of
10 random words for you to remember.)
Test #1: Assessing Your Memory Skills
The following test is designed for you to subjectively reflect on your
memory abilities now. Make an extra copy of this test, so you can
answer it again after you have spent a month working on improving
your memory. That way, you can monitor any improvement. The first
time you take the test, answer each question as honestly as you can
and total up your score. This will help you notice the areas where
you especially need to work on memory improvement, such as learning
to pay better attention, increasing your ability to encode information,
and improving your ability to retrieve names, faces, places, and
dates. Rate your memory on a scale of 1 (you forget most or all of
the time) to 5 (you typically remember very well), and then obtain
an average for each category (total up the ratings in that category
and divide by the number in that category).
TEST #1: RATING MY MEMORY
My Overall Memory
My Memory for Everyday People, Places, and Things1
(average of my scores for the categories below)
People’s names
People’s faces
Where I put things (e.g., keys, eyeglasses)
Performing household chores
Directions to places
Personal dates (i.e., birthdays, anniversaries)
My Memory for Numbers
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Phone numbers I have just looked up
Phone numbers I use frequently
Bank account numbers
Computer passwords
Combinations for locks and safes
My Memory for Information
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Words
What someone has told me in a conversation
What I have learned in a classroom lecture
Reading a novel
Reading a nonfiction book
Reading an article
Reading the newspaper
My Memory for Activities
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Appointments
Performing household chores
Shopping for items at a store
Speaking in public
A meeting at work
My Memory for Events
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Earlier today
Yesterday
Last week
Last month
6 months to a year ago
1–5 years ago
6–10 years ago
When I was a child
After you finish rating each particular item, find the average for
remembering that type of information. Then, look at your ratings to
assess how well you are doing in different areas. Commonly, you will
find you remember best those things that are most important to you,
since you naturally pay more attention in those areas. But, where are
you especially weak? Those are areas ripe for improvement.
Use this test as a guide to help you determine where you especially
want to increase your memory. Later, after you have worked
on developing your memory over the next month (or however long
you take to do this), retest yourself without looking at how you rated
yourself before. Afterwards, compare your before-and-after ratings.
Generally, you will find you improve, though your subjective ratings
can be affected by other factors, such as how you are feeling when
you take the test.
In any case, your second set of scores can help you decide what
you want to work on next if you want to continue to improve your
memory. In fact, if you’re into charts and graphs, you can plot your
ratings every month to chart your continued progress.
memory abilities now. Make an extra copy of this test, so you can
answer it again after you have spent a month working on improving
your memory. That way, you can monitor any improvement. The first
time you take the test, answer each question as honestly as you can
and total up your score. This will help you notice the areas where
you especially need to work on memory improvement, such as learning
to pay better attention, increasing your ability to encode information,
and improving your ability to retrieve names, faces, places, and
dates. Rate your memory on a scale of 1 (you forget most or all of
the time) to 5 (you typically remember very well), and then obtain
an average for each category (total up the ratings in that category
and divide by the number in that category).
TEST #1: RATING MY MEMORY
My Overall Memory
My Memory for Everyday People, Places, and Things1
(average of my scores for the categories below)
People’s names
People’s faces
Where I put things (e.g., keys, eyeglasses)
Performing household chores
Directions to places
Personal dates (i.e., birthdays, anniversaries)
My Memory for Numbers
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Phone numbers I have just looked up
Phone numbers I use frequently
Bank account numbers
Computer passwords
Combinations for locks and safes
My Memory for Information
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Words
What someone has told me in a conversation
What I have learned in a classroom lecture
Reading a novel
Reading a nonfiction book
Reading an article
Reading the newspaper
My Memory for Activities
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Appointments
Performing household chores
Shopping for items at a store
Speaking in public
A meeting at work
My Memory for Events
(average of my scores for the categories below)
Earlier today
Yesterday
Last week
Last month
6 months to a year ago
1–5 years ago
6–10 years ago
When I was a child
After you finish rating each particular item, find the average for
remembering that type of information. Then, look at your ratings to
assess how well you are doing in different areas. Commonly, you will
find you remember best those things that are most important to you,
since you naturally pay more attention in those areas. But, where are
you especially weak? Those are areas ripe for improvement.
Use this test as a guide to help you determine where you especially
want to increase your memory. Later, after you have worked
on developing your memory over the next month (or however long
you take to do this), retest yourself without looking at how you rated
yourself before. Afterwards, compare your before-and-after ratings.
Generally, you will find you improve, though your subjective ratings
can be affected by other factors, such as how you are feeling when
you take the test.
In any case, your second set of scores can help you decide what
you want to work on next if you want to continue to improve your
memory. In fact, if you’re into charts and graphs, you can plot your
ratings every month to chart your continued progress.
Self-Assessment
This first test will provide you with a baseline measure of your feelings
about how good your memory skills are right now.
about how good your memory skills are right now.
How Good Is Your Memory?
When you learn any kind of new subject or skill, to see how much
you have improved, it’s good to see where you started from. So this
chapter is designed to provide you with a baseline showing how you
feel about your ability to remember now and how you perform on
different types of memory tests. Then, you can repeat the tests after
you finish this book and examine the changes. You should expect to
do better the second time.
These tests will give you a general idea of where you are now,
though they are not scientific tests. The first test depends on your
honest assessment of your memory abilities, and it depends on both
your own candor and how accurately you make your assessment. If
you approach the test with a similar attitude both times you take it
(now and after 30 days), you should be reasonably accurate in assessing
your own feelings and perceptions about your memory.
In the second set of tests, there is a problem with taking exactly
the same test as a before-and-after test, because anything you remember
about the first test will improve how you do on the second
one. I have tried to overcome this problem by giving you similar types
of tests to take before and after you read the book, so you can compare
your score. Using the techniques you have learned, you should
do better after 30 days.
Keeping those cautions in mind, here are the tests. I have drawn
you have improved, it’s good to see where you started from. So this
chapter is designed to provide you with a baseline showing how you
feel about your ability to remember now and how you perform on
different types of memory tests. Then, you can repeat the tests after
you finish this book and examine the changes. You should expect to
do better the second time.
These tests will give you a general idea of where you are now,
though they are not scientific tests. The first test depends on your
honest assessment of your memory abilities, and it depends on both
your own candor and how accurately you make your assessment. If
you approach the test with a similar attitude both times you take it
(now and after 30 days), you should be reasonably accurate in assessing
your own feelings and perceptions about your memory.
In the second set of tests, there is a problem with taking exactly
the same test as a before-and-after test, because anything you remember
about the first test will improve how you do on the second
one. I have tried to overcome this problem by giving you similar types
of tests to take before and after you read the book, so you can compare
your score. Using the techniques you have learned, you should
do better after 30 days.
Keeping those cautions in mind, here are the tests. I have drawn
22 Mart 2011 Salı
Remembering What You Experienced
Finally, there is one other area of long-term memory that has been
much studied by researchers—an area that cognitive psychologists
call ‘‘autobiographical memory.’’31 It includes not only long-ago personal
experiences, but also your observations when you witness a
major event, such as a crime.
Commonly, this kind of memory includes a narrative or story
about the event that you relate. But it additionally includes all sorts
of elaborations that contribute to the significance of the story, such
as the imagery you associate with the event and your emotional reactions
to it. These memories also contribute to creating your personal
identity, history, and sense of self, because they are all about what
you experienced.
Researchers are especially interested in looking at how well
these autobiographical memories match what really happened. In
other words, is your recall correct? What is especially interesting
about this type of memory is the way errors can creep in, so you have
distorted memories or remember things that didn’t even happen—
even though your memory assures you that you really were there.
You may make such mistakes for various reasons. One reason is you
want to keep your memories consistent with your own current selfimage
or your current perceptions of the person involved. Another
reason is that you may find something about the memory painful,
so you would rather not recall it or want to edit out the painful parts
from the past.
In general, though, as researchers have found, your memory is
accurate in remembering what’s central to the event. By contrast,
you are more likely to make mistakes in correctly recalling less important
details or specific small bits of tangential information. As
Matlin notes, citing a study by R. Sutherland and H. Hayes, ‘‘When
people do make mistakes, they generally concern peripheral details
and specific information about commonplace events, rather than
central information about important events.’’32 In fact, researchers
have found it’s better not to try to remember a lot of small details;
that’s where you are more likely to make mistakes.
Such mistakes can also occur when you have what researchers
call a ‘‘flashbulb memory,’’ which occurs in a situation where you
initially are involved in, learn of, or observe an event that is very
unusual, surprising, or emotionally arousing. It’s called a flashbulb
memory because it may be especially vivid, such as a shocking event
like 9/11, some especially good news, or the accidental death of
someone close to you. Typically, you are likely to recall exactly where
you were, what happened during the event, what you were doing
when you heard the news, who told you, your own feelings about
the event, and what happened afterwards. Yet, while the very vividness
and distinctiveness of the incident may lead you to remember
it in more detail and with more accuracy than everyday events, particularly
when you talk about it more with others, think about it
more, and consider how the event affects you, you may still make
mistakes. One source of confusion may be the comments and reactions
of others, which may shape your own experience and how you
remember that experience. Then, too, many details may fade over
time.
Another type of error that can creep in to any kind of autobiographical
memory is what researchers call ‘‘consistency bias’’—our
tendency to make what happened in the past more consistent with
our current feelings, beliefs, and general knowledge or expectations
about the way things are.33 This overall outlook we have for seeing
the world is what cognitive psychologists call our ‘‘schema’’—our
generalized knowledge or expectation from past experiences with an
event, object, or person that influences our perception and response
now.34 Thus, we may tend to downplay what seems inconsistent
with who we are now—or who we think others to be. For example,
if you really like your Aunt Mildred and think she is a cool person to
be around, you may tend to diminish or forget your feelings that she
used to treat you badly when you were young. Or if you have become
a solid conservative citizen now, you may tend to downplay or forget
many times when you were a spacey liberal activist in the past.
Thus, when you use memory recall techniques to tap into your
personal autobiography, you have to pay careful attention so you can
distinguish what you really do remember and what you might have
added to or subtracted from your memory of that experience later.
This caution is especially applicable when it comes to eyewitness
reports. You may think you have accurately seen something, but you
really haven’t. There’s a classic test that teachers sometimes do with
students where they have one or two people suddenly come into the
class and do something dramatic—like one person chasing another
with a gun or they have a mock fight—and then run out of the room.
The teacher will then ask the students what they recall, and typically
there are mistakes in identifications. The wrong person is seen holding
the gun, the students think the man with the mustache is clean
shaven, and so on. No wonder that researchers have found that in
over half the cases where defendants have been mistakenly convicted
it’s because of faulty eyewitness testimony.35
One reason that eyewitness memories are often faulty is because
of what researchers call the ‘‘misinformation effect,’’ which occurs
when people are given incorrect information about what they have
observed and they later recall the incorrect information rather than
what they actually saw.36 This disruption is due to what cognitive
psychologists call ‘‘retroactive interference,’’ which occurs when recently
learned new material interferes with recalling a previous
memory correctly. For example, you see something very clearly, but
then someone provides misinformation in asking you a question.
Later you can’t remember what you initially observed because you
are recalling the new information, or you are confused about what
you really saw.37
A good example of this retroactive interference is when a lawyer
or cop is interviewing a witness who has seen a crime occur and asks
what happened when he or she saw the person holding a gun.
Maybe the accused person didn’t have a gun at all, but the witness
will now remember him holding a gun. And so a false memory is
born. In fact, there have been cases where individuals have come to
believe that they committed a crime under intensive questioning.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was an explosion of
false memories that occurred when individuals reported early memories
of childhood abuse that they had forgotten or repressed. While
some of these reports were valid, in many cases they were
remembering imagined memories, sometimes suggested by therapists or because
of the influence of recovered memory therapy groups. A
similar situation has occurred in the more recent priest child abuse
cases involving young males, where some accusers have recalled
long-repressed memories while others have remembered events that
never happened.
The reason for these recovered false memories is that sometimes
therapists probing for reasons for a person’s current problem will
make suggestions while asking their questions. Then clients can
come to believe that they do remember something, which memory
becomes elaborated through further therapy, hypnosis, and interactions
with other clients who are recovering their own memories. Indeed,
cognitive psychologists are able to produce false memories in
the lab. For example, they will give the subject a list containing a
family of related words (such as water, stream, lake, boat, swim)
and later the subject comes up with a related word (e.g., river) that
wasn’t on the original list.38 So the subjects are creating their own
false memories through their active imagination.
So what can you do to remember past events in your life more
accurately? How do you avoid the effects of suggestion, retroactive
interference, and misinformation distorting a past memory or creating
a new one that you think occurred in the past? 42
much studied by researchers—an area that cognitive psychologists
call ‘‘autobiographical memory.’’31 It includes not only long-ago personal
experiences, but also your observations when you witness a
major event, such as a crime.
Commonly, this kind of memory includes a narrative or story
about the event that you relate. But it additionally includes all sorts
of elaborations that contribute to the significance of the story, such
as the imagery you associate with the event and your emotional reactions
to it. These memories also contribute to creating your personal
identity, history, and sense of self, because they are all about what
you experienced.
Researchers are especially interested in looking at how well
these autobiographical memories match what really happened. In
other words, is your recall correct? What is especially interesting
about this type of memory is the way errors can creep in, so you have
distorted memories or remember things that didn’t even happen—
even though your memory assures you that you really were there.
You may make such mistakes for various reasons. One reason is you
want to keep your memories consistent with your own current selfimage
or your current perceptions of the person involved. Another
reason is that you may find something about the memory painful,
so you would rather not recall it or want to edit out the painful parts
from the past.
In general, though, as researchers have found, your memory is
accurate in remembering what’s central to the event. By contrast,
you are more likely to make mistakes in correctly recalling less important
details or specific small bits of tangential information. As
Matlin notes, citing a study by R. Sutherland and H. Hayes, ‘‘When
people do make mistakes, they generally concern peripheral details
and specific information about commonplace events, rather than
central information about important events.’’32 In fact, researchers
have found it’s better not to try to remember a lot of small details;
that’s where you are more likely to make mistakes.
Such mistakes can also occur when you have what researchers
call a ‘‘flashbulb memory,’’ which occurs in a situation where you
initially are involved in, learn of, or observe an event that is very
unusual, surprising, or emotionally arousing. It’s called a flashbulb
memory because it may be especially vivid, such as a shocking event
like 9/11, some especially good news, or the accidental death of
someone close to you. Typically, you are likely to recall exactly where
you were, what happened during the event, what you were doing
when you heard the news, who told you, your own feelings about
the event, and what happened afterwards. Yet, while the very vividness
and distinctiveness of the incident may lead you to remember
it in more detail and with more accuracy than everyday events, particularly
when you talk about it more with others, think about it
more, and consider how the event affects you, you may still make
mistakes. One source of confusion may be the comments and reactions
of others, which may shape your own experience and how you
remember that experience. Then, too, many details may fade over
time.
Another type of error that can creep in to any kind of autobiographical
memory is what researchers call ‘‘consistency bias’’—our
tendency to make what happened in the past more consistent with
our current feelings, beliefs, and general knowledge or expectations
about the way things are.33 This overall outlook we have for seeing
the world is what cognitive psychologists call our ‘‘schema’’—our
generalized knowledge or expectation from past experiences with an
event, object, or person that influences our perception and response
now.34 Thus, we may tend to downplay what seems inconsistent
with who we are now—or who we think others to be. For example,
if you really like your Aunt Mildred and think she is a cool person to
be around, you may tend to diminish or forget your feelings that she
used to treat you badly when you were young. Or if you have become
a solid conservative citizen now, you may tend to downplay or forget
many times when you were a spacey liberal activist in the past.
Thus, when you use memory recall techniques to tap into your
personal autobiography, you have to pay careful attention so you can
distinguish what you really do remember and what you might have
added to or subtracted from your memory of that experience later.
This caution is especially applicable when it comes to eyewitness
reports. You may think you have accurately seen something, but you
really haven’t. There’s a classic test that teachers sometimes do with
students where they have one or two people suddenly come into the
class and do something dramatic—like one person chasing another
with a gun or they have a mock fight—and then run out of the room.
The teacher will then ask the students what they recall, and typically
there are mistakes in identifications. The wrong person is seen holding
the gun, the students think the man with the mustache is clean
shaven, and so on. No wonder that researchers have found that in
over half the cases where defendants have been mistakenly convicted
it’s because of faulty eyewitness testimony.35
One reason that eyewitness memories are often faulty is because
of what researchers call the ‘‘misinformation effect,’’ which occurs
when people are given incorrect information about what they have
observed and they later recall the incorrect information rather than
what they actually saw.36 This disruption is due to what cognitive
psychologists call ‘‘retroactive interference,’’ which occurs when recently
learned new material interferes with recalling a previous
memory correctly. For example, you see something very clearly, but
then someone provides misinformation in asking you a question.
Later you can’t remember what you initially observed because you
are recalling the new information, or you are confused about what
you really saw.37
A good example of this retroactive interference is when a lawyer
or cop is interviewing a witness who has seen a crime occur and asks
what happened when he or she saw the person holding a gun.
Maybe the accused person didn’t have a gun at all, but the witness
will now remember him holding a gun. And so a false memory is
born. In fact, there have been cases where individuals have come to
believe that they committed a crime under intensive questioning.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was an explosion of
false memories that occurred when individuals reported early memories
of childhood abuse that they had forgotten or repressed. While
some of these reports were valid, in many cases they were
remembering imagined memories, sometimes suggested by therapists or because
of the influence of recovered memory therapy groups. A
similar situation has occurred in the more recent priest child abuse
cases involving young males, where some accusers have recalled
long-repressed memories while others have remembered events that
never happened.
The reason for these recovered false memories is that sometimes
therapists probing for reasons for a person’s current problem will
make suggestions while asking their questions. Then clients can
come to believe that they do remember something, which memory
becomes elaborated through further therapy, hypnosis, and interactions
with other clients who are recovering their own memories. Indeed,
cognitive psychologists are able to produce false memories in
the lab. For example, they will give the subject a list containing a
family of related words (such as water, stream, lake, boat, swim)
and later the subject comes up with a related word (e.g., river) that
wasn’t on the original list.38 So the subjects are creating their own
false memories through their active imagination.
So what can you do to remember past events in your life more
accurately? How do you avoid the effects of suggestion, retroactive
interference, and misinformation distorting a past memory or creating
a new one that you think occurred in the past? 42
19 Mart 2011 Cumartesi
How Do the Experts Do It?
Given all these difficulties in retrieving a memory correctly—from
improper coding and distortion to interference from previous memories—
how do the memory experts do it? What tricks and techniques
do they use to make them so much better?
First of all, if it makes you feel any better, experts are generally
experts in a particular area, where they have studied the subject matter
intensively. In other words, most experts gain their skill through
extensive training and practice. As Matlin notes of the many experts
studied who have great memories for chess, sports, maps, and musical
notations, ‘‘In general, researchers have found a strong positive
correlation between knowledge about an area and memory performance
in that area . . . [and] people who are expert in one area seldom
display outstanding general memory skills.’’27 For example, researchers
have found that chess masters may be experts in remembering
chess positions and some are even able to hold the positions on multiple
boards in their head, but they are similar to nonexperts in their
general cognitive and perceptual abilities. Moreover, memory experts
don’t have exceptionally high scores on intelligence tests. Researchers
even found that one horse racing expert only had an IQ of 92 and
an eighth-grade education.28
Rather, what makes these memory experts so good at what they
do is that they have become especially knowledgeable and practiced
in a particular area—so you can do it, too. In particular, researchers
have found that memory experts have these key traits—and you’ll
find some techniques drawn from these findings in later chapters.
• Memory experts have a well-organized structure of knowledge,
which they have carefully learned in a particular field.29
• The experts generally use more vivid imagery to help them remember.
• The experts are more likely to organize any new material they
have to recall into organized and meaningful chunks of information.
• The experts use special rehearsal techniques when they practice,
such as focusing on particular words or images that are
likely to help them remember the rest of that material; they
don’t try to remember everything.
• The experts more effectively can fill in the blanks when they
have missing information in material they have partially
learned and remembered, such as when they are able to fill in
the rest of a story they are recalling and recounting to others.
These techniques, in turn, work well for anyone, such as professional
speakers and actors, who have to encode and remember a lot
of information in their field—and these are techniques you can use,
too. For example, professional actors use deeper rather than superficial
processing techniques, such as thinking about the meanings and
motivations of the character they are portraying. They also use visualization
to see the person with whom they are talking as they practice
their lines, and they try to put themselves in the appropriate
mood and think about how the story relates to themselves.30 In
short, they don’t just try to remember a lot of lines by rote, but they
create a rich context for encoding and later retrieving the memory of
their lines. 38
improper coding and distortion to interference from previous memories—
how do the memory experts do it? What tricks and techniques
do they use to make them so much better?
First of all, if it makes you feel any better, experts are generally
experts in a particular area, where they have studied the subject matter
intensively. In other words, most experts gain their skill through
extensive training and practice. As Matlin notes of the many experts
studied who have great memories for chess, sports, maps, and musical
notations, ‘‘In general, researchers have found a strong positive
correlation between knowledge about an area and memory performance
in that area . . . [and] people who are expert in one area seldom
display outstanding general memory skills.’’27 For example, researchers
have found that chess masters may be experts in remembering
chess positions and some are even able to hold the positions on multiple
boards in their head, but they are similar to nonexperts in their
general cognitive and perceptual abilities. Moreover, memory experts
don’t have exceptionally high scores on intelligence tests. Researchers
even found that one horse racing expert only had an IQ of 92 and
an eighth-grade education.28
Rather, what makes these memory experts so good at what they
do is that they have become especially knowledgeable and practiced
in a particular area—so you can do it, too. In particular, researchers
have found that memory experts have these key traits—and you’ll
find some techniques drawn from these findings in later chapters.
• Memory experts have a well-organized structure of knowledge,
which they have carefully learned in a particular field.29
• The experts generally use more vivid imagery to help them remember.
• The experts are more likely to organize any new material they
have to recall into organized and meaningful chunks of information.
• The experts use special rehearsal techniques when they practice,
such as focusing on particular words or images that are
likely to help them remember the rest of that material; they
don’t try to remember everything.
• The experts more effectively can fill in the blanks when they
have missing information in material they have partially
learned and remembered, such as when they are able to fill in
the rest of a story they are recalling and recounting to others.
These techniques, in turn, work well for anyone, such as professional
speakers and actors, who have to encode and remember a lot
of information in their field—and these are techniques you can use,
too. For example, professional actors use deeper rather than superficial
processing techniques, such as thinking about the meanings and
motivations of the character they are portraying. They also use visualization
to see the person with whom they are talking as they practice
their lines, and they try to put themselves in the appropriate
mood and think about how the story relates to themselves.30 In
short, they don’t just try to remember a lot of lines by rote, but they
create a rich context for encoding and later retrieving the memory of
their lines. 38
Retrieving Your Memories
Once a memory is encoded in long-term memory, there are several
ways to retrieve it—and many of the techniques described in later
chapters will help you do that.
Psychologists distinguish between two ways of looking at how
well you retrieve a memory—either explicitly through recall or recognition,
or implicitly, when your memory enables you to do some activity,
even though you aren’t consciously trying to remember how to
do it.23
Your recall is your ability to call up a particular memory; your
recognition is your ability to recognize whether or not you know
or are familiar with something. As you well know from your own
experience, it’s always more difficult to recall something than to simply
recognize it as being familiar. This is the difference between having
to come up with a definition or identification for something on
a test versus selecting a multiple-choice or true/false answer.
One way that psychologists test for recall ability—an approach
that will be incorporated in some later exercises for memory improvement—
is asking subjects to read a list of words, then take a
break, and later try to write down as many words as they can. Or
they might do this exercise with numbers, nonsense syllables, cities,
animal names, or anything else they choose.
They test for recognition in a very similar way. Subjects are given
a list of words or other items and, after a break, are shown another
list and asked to identify the items on the original list.24 In both
recall and recognition, errors can easily creep in, such as not remembering
an item on a list or thinking that something is on the list that
isn’t.
As for implicit memory, a typical example of testing for this
ability is to give subjects in an experiment a list of items with some
information left out—such as having missing letters in words or having
some missing lines in a drawing.25 Then, the subjects have to fill
in what’s missing. If they have seen the words, drawings, or other
items in the test before, they will be able to complete the items more
quickly and accurately, because they have a memory of seeing those
items before.
Whatever the type of task, if you have previous experience with
the material or skill involved, you will be able to do it better. For
example, even if you haven’t ridden a bike, picked up a tennis racquet,
or spoken a language you learned in college for many years,
you will generally find if you are in a situation where you have to
use that skill again, you will be able to use it even if you are a little
rusty. When you work on learning and remembering that ability
again, you will learn it faster than you did the first time.
Moreover, if your experience is more recent, you will be more
likely to recall, recognize, or use an implicit memory to complete a
task. So it makes sense to refresh your memory closer to the time
when you will need it—otherwise, a good recollection of something
may not be there when you need it. For example, a woman in a
Native American literature class I took thought she would get a leg
up on the course if she read over the material the first night after
the class. But when it came time to take a short quiz on the reading,
she completely blanked out on the stories. However, when the professor
discussed the books later in the course, she found the material
familiar.
That loss of memory is what happens if you learn something too
far away in time from when you need to recall that information and
don’t try to refresh your memory closer to the time you need to know
this material. Your memory of something you have learned gradually
fades if you don’t use that memory. So while you may be able to
recognize that you learned something days later or may be able to
pull up relevant information with a specific trigger word, phrase, or
sentence, a more general recall task will leave you blank. As you’ll
learn in subsequent chapters, there are strategies to use in order to
freshen up selective memories and decide when to learn what you
need to know.
Another complication to storing and retrieving new information
is that when you learn something, what you have previously learned
may interfere with learning something new. Psychologists call this
‘‘proactive interference’’—and there can be even more interference
when the two things you are trying to learn are similar.26 Your previous
memories interfere with what you are learning now. For instance,
you meet a woman named Angie at a party and you already
know an Annie—you might mistakenly call Angie, Annie, and even
if you are corrected, you may continue to make that same mistake.
Or say you are trying to learn about the new regulations affecting
your insurance policy. You may find your memory of the old policy
interfering, so you confuse the two. Improving your memory will
help you deal with this proactive interference problem. Incidentally,
don’t confuse proactive interference, which is a problem when past
learning interferes with future learning, with proactive listening and
observing, which is something you want to do so you more actively
learn something when you listen or look closely.
ways to retrieve it—and many of the techniques described in later
chapters will help you do that.
Psychologists distinguish between two ways of looking at how
well you retrieve a memory—either explicitly through recall or recognition,
or implicitly, when your memory enables you to do some activity,
even though you aren’t consciously trying to remember how to
do it.23
Your recall is your ability to call up a particular memory; your
recognition is your ability to recognize whether or not you know
or are familiar with something. As you well know from your own
experience, it’s always more difficult to recall something than to simply
recognize it as being familiar. This is the difference between having
to come up with a definition or identification for something on
a test versus selecting a multiple-choice or true/false answer.
One way that psychologists test for recall ability—an approach
that will be incorporated in some later exercises for memory improvement—
is asking subjects to read a list of words, then take a
break, and later try to write down as many words as they can. Or
they might do this exercise with numbers, nonsense syllables, cities,
animal names, or anything else they choose.
They test for recognition in a very similar way. Subjects are given
a list of words or other items and, after a break, are shown another
list and asked to identify the items on the original list.24 In both
recall and recognition, errors can easily creep in, such as not remembering
an item on a list or thinking that something is on the list that
isn’t.
As for implicit memory, a typical example of testing for this
ability is to give subjects in an experiment a list of items with some
information left out—such as having missing letters in words or having
some missing lines in a drawing.25 Then, the subjects have to fill
in what’s missing. If they have seen the words, drawings, or other
items in the test before, they will be able to complete the items more
quickly and accurately, because they have a memory of seeing those
items before.
Whatever the type of task, if you have previous experience with
the material or skill involved, you will be able to do it better. For
example, even if you haven’t ridden a bike, picked up a tennis racquet,
or spoken a language you learned in college for many years,
you will generally find if you are in a situation where you have to
use that skill again, you will be able to use it even if you are a little
rusty. When you work on learning and remembering that ability
again, you will learn it faster than you did the first time.
Moreover, if your experience is more recent, you will be more
likely to recall, recognize, or use an implicit memory to complete a
task. So it makes sense to refresh your memory closer to the time
when you will need it—otherwise, a good recollection of something
may not be there when you need it. For example, a woman in a
Native American literature class I took thought she would get a leg
up on the course if she read over the material the first night after
the class. But when it came time to take a short quiz on the reading,
she completely blanked out on the stories. However, when the professor
discussed the books later in the course, she found the material
familiar.
That loss of memory is what happens if you learn something too
far away in time from when you need to recall that information and
don’t try to refresh your memory closer to the time you need to know
this material. Your memory of something you have learned gradually
fades if you don’t use that memory. So while you may be able to
recognize that you learned something days later or may be able to
pull up relevant information with a specific trigger word, phrase, or
sentence, a more general recall task will leave you blank. As you’ll
learn in subsequent chapters, there are strategies to use in order to
freshen up selective memories and decide when to learn what you
need to know.
Another complication to storing and retrieving new information
is that when you learn something, what you have previously learned
may interfere with learning something new. Psychologists call this
‘‘proactive interference’’—and there can be even more interference
when the two things you are trying to learn are similar.26 Your previous
memories interfere with what you are learning now. For instance,
you meet a woman named Angie at a party and you already
know an Annie—you might mistakenly call Angie, Annie, and even
if you are corrected, you may continue to make that same mistake.
Or say you are trying to learn about the new regulations affecting
your insurance policy. You may find your memory of the old policy
interfering, so you confuse the two. Improving your memory will
help you deal with this proactive interference problem. Incidentally,
don’t confuse proactive interference, which is a problem when past
learning interferes with future learning, with proactive listening and
observing, which is something you want to do so you more actively
learn something when you listen or look closely.
18 Mart 2011 Cuma
The Influence of Emotion and Mood
Finally, cognitive psychologists have found that your emotional feelings
and mood can affect what you remember. Not only is there the
same kind of matching effect that there is for context, so you will
remember more if you are in a similar emotional state when you try
to retrieve a memory, but you will remember more if you feel the
memory is a pleasant one.16 Here are three major findings about
memory, emotions, and mood.
• You will recall pleasant information more accurately and more quickly,
which is sometimes called the ‘‘Pollyanna Principle.’’ Whether
you are trying to remember what you have perceived, what
someone has said, a decision you have made, or other types of
information, if it’s more pleasant to remember, you will remember
better. While psychologists have tested this principle
in the laboratory, such as by asking subjects to remember
words that are pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant, or asking them
to remember colors, fruits, vegetables, or other items that are
more or less pleasant,17 the principle makes sense in everyday
life. For example, wouldn’t you rather recall something you
enjoy that gives you good feelings than something you don’t
like and makes you feel bad? In fact, there is a whole body
of research that indicates that people will repress or suppress
memories of experiences that are unpleasant, such as memories
of early childhood abuse.18
• You will more accurately recall neutral information associated with
pleasant information or a pleasant context, or as psychologists
phrase it, you will have ‘‘more accurate recall for neutral stimuli
associated with pleasant stimuli.’’19 Psychologists have
come to this conclusion by making comparisons in the lab,
such as whether subjects better remember commercials or the
brands featured in them when they see them before or after
violent and nonviolent films. Again and again, psychologists
have found significantly better recall when nonviolent, and
presumably more pleasant, films are shown.20 The finding
makes perfect sense and you can see examples of how this
works in everyday life. For example, when you are experiencing
or seeing something pleasant, you will feel more comfortable
and relaxed, which will contribute to your remembering
something you read, hear, or perceive in this relaxed state. By
contrast, if you are experiencing something unpleasant, you
will feel more stress and tension; the experience may even interfere
with your ability to concentrate, such as by distracting
your attention, so you encode and remember less.
• You will retain your pleasant memories longer, while unpleasant memories
will fade faster. It’s a principle some researchers discovered
when they asked subjects to record personal events for about
three months and rate how pleasant they were, and three
months later, asked them to rate the events again. While there
was little change for the neutral and pleasant events, most of
the subjects rated the less pleasant events as more pleasant
when they recalled them again. The one unexpected finding
was that if subjects tended to feel depressed, they were more
likely to better recall the unpleasant memories.21 But this finding
makes sense when you think about it. You are more likely
to focus on and remember the experiences you have found
pleasant in your life, since they will make you feel better. But if
you are unhappy, you will be more likely to recall the negative,
unpleasant experiences you have had, though these will contribute
to keeping you feeling down.
Cognitive psychologists have additionally found that just as
there is improved memory when the context matches, so there is a
match between what you remember and your mood. If you are in a
good mood, you will remember pleasant material better than unpleasant
material, while if you are in a bad mood, you will better
remember unpleasant material. Likewise, if you are a generally upbeat
person, your memory for positive information will be greater
than the memory of someone who tends to be down and depressed.
In turn, these positive memories will help keep someone who is positive
upbeat, while a depressed person could become even more down
in the dumps as they remember more negative memories.22 In other
words, as the old popular song puts it: ‘‘accentuate the positive’’ in
what you think about and remember if you want to feel better. 34
and mood can affect what you remember. Not only is there the
same kind of matching effect that there is for context, so you will
remember more if you are in a similar emotional state when you try
to retrieve a memory, but you will remember more if you feel the
memory is a pleasant one.16 Here are three major findings about
memory, emotions, and mood.
• You will recall pleasant information more accurately and more quickly,
which is sometimes called the ‘‘Pollyanna Principle.’’ Whether
you are trying to remember what you have perceived, what
someone has said, a decision you have made, or other types of
information, if it’s more pleasant to remember, you will remember
better. While psychologists have tested this principle
in the laboratory, such as by asking subjects to remember
words that are pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant, or asking them
to remember colors, fruits, vegetables, or other items that are
more or less pleasant,17 the principle makes sense in everyday
life. For example, wouldn’t you rather recall something you
enjoy that gives you good feelings than something you don’t
like and makes you feel bad? In fact, there is a whole body
of research that indicates that people will repress or suppress
memories of experiences that are unpleasant, such as memories
of early childhood abuse.18
• You will more accurately recall neutral information associated with
pleasant information or a pleasant context, or as psychologists
phrase it, you will have ‘‘more accurate recall for neutral stimuli
associated with pleasant stimuli.’’19 Psychologists have
come to this conclusion by making comparisons in the lab,
such as whether subjects better remember commercials or the
brands featured in them when they see them before or after
violent and nonviolent films. Again and again, psychologists
have found significantly better recall when nonviolent, and
presumably more pleasant, films are shown.20 The finding
makes perfect sense and you can see examples of how this
works in everyday life. For example, when you are experiencing
or seeing something pleasant, you will feel more comfortable
and relaxed, which will contribute to your remembering
something you read, hear, or perceive in this relaxed state. By
contrast, if you are experiencing something unpleasant, you
will feel more stress and tension; the experience may even interfere
with your ability to concentrate, such as by distracting
your attention, so you encode and remember less.
• You will retain your pleasant memories longer, while unpleasant memories
will fade faster. It’s a principle some researchers discovered
when they asked subjects to record personal events for about
three months and rate how pleasant they were, and three
months later, asked them to rate the events again. While there
was little change for the neutral and pleasant events, most of
the subjects rated the less pleasant events as more pleasant
when they recalled them again. The one unexpected finding
was that if subjects tended to feel depressed, they were more
likely to better recall the unpleasant memories.21 But this finding
makes sense when you think about it. You are more likely
to focus on and remember the experiences you have found
pleasant in your life, since they will make you feel better. But if
you are unhappy, you will be more likely to recall the negative,
unpleasant experiences you have had, though these will contribute
to keeping you feeling down.
Cognitive psychologists have additionally found that just as
there is improved memory when the context matches, so there is a
match between what you remember and your mood. If you are in a
good mood, you will remember pleasant material better than unpleasant
material, while if you are in a bad mood, you will better
remember unpleasant material. Likewise, if you are a generally upbeat
person, your memory for positive information will be greater
than the memory of someone who tends to be down and depressed.
In turn, these positive memories will help keep someone who is positive
upbeat, while a depressed person could become even more down
in the dumps as they remember more negative memories.22 In other
words, as the old popular song puts it: ‘‘accentuate the positive’’ in
what you think about and remember if you want to feel better. 34
Using the Power of Context and Specificity
Another way to increase your encoding ability is to incorporate the
specific context, and then use that context when you seek to retrieve
that memory.11 A good example of how the power of context works
is when you meet someone at an event and later you run into that
person dressed differently on the street. You may not even recognize
the person or you may only have a vague sense of familiarity—you
think you may have seen that person before but you don’t have the
slightest idea where. But if the other person has a better memory for
your meeting and mentions where you met, the memory of who that
person is may come flooding back. Why? Because you now have the
context for your meeting, which cues you in to who this person is
and what transpired in your meeting.
A similar kind of experience may occur when you go to get something
from another room but once you get there, you don’t have any
idea why you are there. No, you are not suffering the early stages of
Alzheimer’s disease. You have simply moved out of the context in
which you encoded the item and remembered why you need it. In a
different context, you don’t remember what you were looking for.
But once you return to the original room, you will remember.
Psychologists have developed some terms that highlight the importance
of context for remembering. One is the ‘‘encoding specificity
principle,’’ which means that you will better recall something if
you are in a context that’s similar to where you encoded the information—
that is, when you entered it into your long-term memory.12 By
contrast, you are more likely to forget when you experience a different
context. Two other terms that psychologists use to refer to this
phenomenon are that your memory is ‘‘context-dependent’’ or that
‘‘transfer-appropriate processing’’ helps you better remember.13 In
other words, if you are having trouble remembering something, it
can help to go back into the setting where you first encoded it into
memory. Or if you can’t actually go there, you can mentally project
yourself into that setting—one of the techniques I’ll discuss further
in Chapters 24 and 26.
Repeatedly, psychologists have found examples of this encoding
specificity principle in their research, in which memory is dependent
on the context where the original memory is encoded. For example,
they found that people hearing a male or female speak some words
were more likely to remember the word when they heard the words
spoken again by someone of the same sex.14 They have also found
that subjects will recall an earlier experience in extensive detail
when triggered by a present-day stimulus that evokes that experience.
For example, an image of an exotic bird you haven’t seen in
years brings back memories of going on a birding trip to the tropics.
While the physical context can serve as a reminder, so can the
mental context, because it’s not just how the environment looks but
how it feels.15 For example, you may experience an extremely hot
day in one place that brings up memories of how you felt when it
was extremely hot someplace else; a bitter cold day now can bring
up memories of a bitter cold winter long ago.
specific context, and then use that context when you seek to retrieve
that memory.11 A good example of how the power of context works
is when you meet someone at an event and later you run into that
person dressed differently on the street. You may not even recognize
the person or you may only have a vague sense of familiarity—you
think you may have seen that person before but you don’t have the
slightest idea where. But if the other person has a better memory for
your meeting and mentions where you met, the memory of who that
person is may come flooding back. Why? Because you now have the
context for your meeting, which cues you in to who this person is
and what transpired in your meeting.
A similar kind of experience may occur when you go to get something
from another room but once you get there, you don’t have any
idea why you are there. No, you are not suffering the early stages of
Alzheimer’s disease. You have simply moved out of the context in
which you encoded the item and remembered why you need it. In a
different context, you don’t remember what you were looking for.
But once you return to the original room, you will remember.
Psychologists have developed some terms that highlight the importance
of context for remembering. One is the ‘‘encoding specificity
principle,’’ which means that you will better recall something if
you are in a context that’s similar to where you encoded the information—
that is, when you entered it into your long-term memory.12 By
contrast, you are more likely to forget when you experience a different
context. Two other terms that psychologists use to refer to this
phenomenon are that your memory is ‘‘context-dependent’’ or that
‘‘transfer-appropriate processing’’ helps you better remember.13 In
other words, if you are having trouble remembering something, it
can help to go back into the setting where you first encoded it into
memory. Or if you can’t actually go there, you can mentally project
yourself into that setting—one of the techniques I’ll discuss further
in Chapters 24 and 26.
Repeatedly, psychologists have found examples of this encoding
specificity principle in their research, in which memory is dependent
on the context where the original memory is encoded. For example,
they found that people hearing a male or female speak some words
were more likely to remember the word when they heard the words
spoken again by someone of the same sex.14 They have also found
that subjects will recall an earlier experience in extensive detail
when triggered by a present-day stimulus that evokes that experience.
For example, an image of an exotic bird you haven’t seen in
years brings back memories of going on a birding trip to the tropics.
While the physical context can serve as a reminder, so can the
mental context, because it’s not just how the environment looks but
how it feels.15 For example, you may experience an extremely hot
day in one place that brings up memories of how you felt when it
was extremely hot someplace else; a bitter cold day now can bring
up memories of a bitter cold winter long ago.
17 Mart 2011 Perşembe
Using the Self-Referent Effect for a Better Memory
The way the self-referent effect works is that if you can relate the
information to yourself, you will better remember it. Psychologists
have found this association again and again, when they have asked
subjects to decide if a particular word could apply to themselves,
rather than just trying to remember the word based on how it looks
or sounds, or on its meaning.9 One reason is that as you think about
how something relates to you, you make it more distinctive and you
elaborate on what that word means to you. The same process works
when you think about anything, such as how someone you have just
met might be able to help you or how you might be able to use a
new product you are reading about in your own life. As you think
about it, you make that information more distinctive and you elaborate
on it by considering what it means to you. You might also be
more likely to continue to think about it, a process that psychologists
call ‘‘rehearsal,’’ as you repeatedly call up a new idea, name, or any
other sort of new information.
Intriguingly, psychologists have found that this self-reference
approach lights up a particular area of the brain—the right prefrontal
cortex, which researchers suggest may be an area of the brain
associated with the concept of self.10 So as you use these various
techniques—for deep processing—such as finding ways to increase
the way a particular bit of information relates to you—it has a direct
effect on your brain processing, too. No wonder these techniques
work so well. You are not only creating more meanings and associations
for words and relating them to yourself, but your actions are
activating your brain centers involved with language and your sense
of self. 30
information to yourself, you will better remember it. Psychologists
have found this association again and again, when they have asked
subjects to decide if a particular word could apply to themselves,
rather than just trying to remember the word based on how it looks
or sounds, or on its meaning.9 One reason is that as you think about
how something relates to you, you make it more distinctive and you
elaborate on what that word means to you. The same process works
when you think about anything, such as how someone you have just
met might be able to help you or how you might be able to use a
new product you are reading about in your own life. As you think
about it, you make that information more distinctive and you elaborate
on it by considering what it means to you. You might also be
more likely to continue to think about it, a process that psychologists
call ‘‘rehearsal,’’ as you repeatedly call up a new idea, name, or any
other sort of new information.
Intriguingly, psychologists have found that this self-reference
approach lights up a particular area of the brain—the right prefrontal
cortex, which researchers suggest may be an area of the brain
associated with the concept of self.10 So as you use these various
techniques—for deep processing—such as finding ways to increase
the way a particular bit of information relates to you—it has a direct
effect on your brain processing, too. No wonder these techniques
work so well. You are not only creating more meanings and associations
for words and relating them to yourself, but your actions are
activating your brain centers involved with language and your sense
of self. 30
Encoding Your Memories
Regardless of which type of memory you are placing in long-term
memory, the transfer process from working to long-term memory
depends on encoding—the action of placing a particular bit of information
there. The process is a little like placing a file folder, in which
you have just placed some documents, into a file cabinet.
The more carefully you place it there and the more clearly you
identify what’s in that file, the better you will be able to retrieve it
later. In fact, psychologists distinguish between two types of encoding:
psychologists call this the ‘‘levels-of-processing’’ or ‘‘depthof-
processing.’’ You can either encode something through a more
shallow type of encoding or a deeper level of processing.5 The difference
affects your ability to retrieve information later.
When you use a more shallow type of processing, you are essentially
using your senses to place the information in long-term memory.
For example, you are focusing on the way a word or image looks
or sounds. In the tests psychologists use for testing memory, this
appearance or sound might be distinguished by whether a word is
typed in capital or small letters, rhymes with another word, or comes
before or after another word in a sequence. In the case of an image,
your focus would be on its appearance, such as its shape, color, or
identity. Or in everyday life, you might do shallow processing when
you remember someone by his or her facial features or what he or
she is wearing.
By contrast, when you use a deep processing approach, you are
looking at the meaning of something. For instance, if it’s a word, you
might think of whether it fits in a sentence or what types of images
and associations it brings to mind. If it’s an image, you would think
about its associations, too. And in everyday life, you would seek to
remember more details about someone beyond his or her superficial
appearance, such as his or her occupation, where and how you met,
and your thoughts about how you might be able to have a mutually
profitable relationship in the future.
As psychologists have found, when you use deep processing to
remember something, you will better recall it later. Why? Because of
two key factors: (1) making the information more distinctive and
(2) elaborating on it.6 For example, you might make the name of
someone you have just met more distinctive by identifying something
unusual about that name or thinking about how that person
is unique, such as if that person has an unusual occupation. Or you
might elaborate on some new information by thinking about how it
connects to something else you already know or about its meaning
and significance, such as when you read a news article and think
about the impact that an event discussed in the article will have.
In addition, psychologists have discovered three other factors
that contribute to deeper encoding and therefore better retrieval: (1)
the self-referent effect, (2) the power of context and specificity, and
(3) the influence of the emotions and mood. Moreover, psychologists
have found that these deeper encoding processes make more of an
impact within the brain itself than shallower processing. For example,
they have found that when subjects in experiments engage in
deep processing, they activate the left prefrontal cortex, which is associated
with verbal and language processing.7 This deep processing
approach has also been found to be especially effective in trying to
remember faces, by paying more attention to the distinctions between
features and consciously trying to recall more facial features.8
You’ll see more about techniques that are based on each of these
factors in subsequent chapters. But for now, here’s how these different
factors contribute to better remembering something.
memory, the transfer process from working to long-term memory
depends on encoding—the action of placing a particular bit of information
there. The process is a little like placing a file folder, in which
you have just placed some documents, into a file cabinet.
The more carefully you place it there and the more clearly you
identify what’s in that file, the better you will be able to retrieve it
later. In fact, psychologists distinguish between two types of encoding:
psychologists call this the ‘‘levels-of-processing’’ or ‘‘depthof-
processing.’’ You can either encode something through a more
shallow type of encoding or a deeper level of processing.5 The difference
affects your ability to retrieve information later.
When you use a more shallow type of processing, you are essentially
using your senses to place the information in long-term memory.
For example, you are focusing on the way a word or image looks
or sounds. In the tests psychologists use for testing memory, this
appearance or sound might be distinguished by whether a word is
typed in capital or small letters, rhymes with another word, or comes
before or after another word in a sequence. In the case of an image,
your focus would be on its appearance, such as its shape, color, or
identity. Or in everyday life, you might do shallow processing when
you remember someone by his or her facial features or what he or
she is wearing.
By contrast, when you use a deep processing approach, you are
looking at the meaning of something. For instance, if it’s a word, you
might think of whether it fits in a sentence or what types of images
and associations it brings to mind. If it’s an image, you would think
about its associations, too. And in everyday life, you would seek to
remember more details about someone beyond his or her superficial
appearance, such as his or her occupation, where and how you met,
and your thoughts about how you might be able to have a mutually
profitable relationship in the future.
As psychologists have found, when you use deep processing to
remember something, you will better recall it later. Why? Because of
two key factors: (1) making the information more distinctive and
(2) elaborating on it.6 For example, you might make the name of
someone you have just met more distinctive by identifying something
unusual about that name or thinking about how that person
is unique, such as if that person has an unusual occupation. Or you
might elaborate on some new information by thinking about how it
connects to something else you already know or about its meaning
and significance, such as when you read a news article and think
about the impact that an event discussed in the article will have.
In addition, psychologists have discovered three other factors
that contribute to deeper encoding and therefore better retrieval: (1)
the self-referent effect, (2) the power of context and specificity, and
(3) the influence of the emotions and mood. Moreover, psychologists
have found that these deeper encoding processes make more of an
impact within the brain itself than shallower processing. For example,
they have found that when subjects in experiments engage in
deep processing, they activate the left prefrontal cortex, which is associated
with verbal and language processing.7 This deep processing
approach has also been found to be especially effective in trying to
remember faces, by paying more attention to the distinctions between
features and consciously trying to recall more facial features.8
You’ll see more about techniques that are based on each of these
factors in subsequent chapters. But for now, here’s how these different
factors contribute to better remembering something.
Procedural Memory
This is your memory for your knowledge about how to do something.
4 Commonly, once this knowledge gets transferred into your
long-term memory it becomes automatic. You don’t have to think
about driving a car, for example, or opening up a word-processing
program and starting to type. But like any skill, if you don’t use it,
you can forget exactly what you are doing, much like any unused
mechanical device might become rusty or a computer program might
become corrupted and stop working properly.
4 Commonly, once this knowledge gets transferred into your
long-term memory it becomes automatic. You don’t have to think
about driving a car, for example, or opening up a word-processing
program and starting to type. But like any skill, if you don’t use it,
you can forget exactly what you are doing, much like any unused
mechanical device might become rusty or a computer program might
become corrupted and stop working properly.
Semantic Memory
This is your memory for what you know about the world. It is like
an organized base of knowledge; it includes any factual or other information
you have learned, including all the words you know in
any language.3 You might think of this semantic memory as your
internal encyclopedia or reference desk, which you are continually
consulting as you speak, read the newspaper, listen to the radio or
TV, or consider the validity of new information from any source. And
just as your episodic memory can be faulty at times, so can your
semantic memory.
an organized base of knowledge; it includes any factual or other information
you have learned, including all the words you know in
any language.3 You might think of this semantic memory as your
internal encyclopedia or reference desk, which you are continually
consulting as you speak, read the newspaper, listen to the radio or
TV, or consider the validity of new information from any source. And
just as your episodic memory can be faulty at times, so can your
semantic memory.
Episodic Memory
This is your memory for experiences or events that happened to you
at any time in the past—from many years ago to just a few minutes
ago. When you call up these memories, you travel backwards in time
so you can experience what happened in the past—or at least what
you remember happened, since this recollection is subjective.2 Thus,
someone else might have a different memory of what happened and
a video recording might show a still different reality. So while your
memory may well be accurate, it is also subject to distortion for various
reasons, such as your faulty encoding of this memory in the first
place or a later modification of the memory to conform to your selfperception
of how you are now. Then, too, your memory might be
modified by later suggestions about what you experienced; this
sometimes happens in conversations and interviews, as when a cop
interviews a witness or suspect with leading questions that shape
what the person remembers.
at any time in the past—from many years ago to just a few minutes
ago. When you call up these memories, you travel backwards in time
so you can experience what happened in the past—or at least what
you remember happened, since this recollection is subjective.2 Thus,
someone else might have a different memory of what happened and
a video recording might show a still different reality. So while your
memory may well be accurate, it is also subject to distortion for various
reasons, such as your faulty encoding of this memory in the first
place or a later modification of the memory to conform to your selfperception
of how you are now. Then, too, your memory might be
modified by later suggestions about what you experienced; this
sometimes happens in conversations and interviews, as when a cop
interviews a witness or suspect with leading questions that shape
what the person remembers.
The Three Types of Long-Term Memory
Commonly, psychologists divide long-term memory into three types
of memory, although this may be more of a convenience for thinking
about how we remember than actual distinctions. However,
different techniques will help you improve in each of these areas, so these
distinctions have practical uses.
These three types of memory include episodic, semantic, and
procedural memory, which have the following characteristics discussed
below.
of memory, although this may be more of a convenience for thinking
about how we remember than actual distinctions. However,
different techniques will help you improve in each of these areas, so these
distinctions have practical uses.
These three types of memory include episodic, semantic, and
procedural memory, which have the following characteristics discussed
below.
How Your Long-Term MemoryWorks
In the last page, I described how your working short-term memory
takes in new information and then passes some of it on to your
long-term memory. In this chapter, I’ll describe how your long-term
memory works, so you will better understand the techniques used
for putting information into your long-term memory—and later, retrieving
information from there. Again I have drawn on the latest
findings from cognitive psychologists in writing this chapter.
You might think of your long-term memory as akin to a hard
drive on a computer, whereas your working memory is like your
RAM (random access memory), which you use in processing current
tasks and which has only a limited space. Your long-term memory
is very large, and contains everything you’ve ever put into it, from
experiences to images and information. You may have to do some
digging around to find specific information. Sometimes, as when
you’re struggling to recall something you haven’t thought about for
a very long time, you may think certain information has been deleted,
but it may well be there if you know how to retrieve it.
takes in new information and then passes some of it on to your
long-term memory. In this chapter, I’ll describe how your long-term
memory works, so you will better understand the techniques used
for putting information into your long-term memory—and later, retrieving
information from there. Again I have drawn on the latest
findings from cognitive psychologists in writing this chapter.
You might think of your long-term memory as akin to a hard
drive on a computer, whereas your working memory is like your
RAM (random access memory), which you use in processing current
tasks and which has only a limited space. Your long-term memory
is very large, and contains everything you’ve ever put into it, from
experiences to images and information. You may have to do some
digging around to find specific information. Sometimes, as when
you’re struggling to recall something you haven’t thought about for
a very long time, you may think certain information has been deleted,
but it may well be there if you know how to retrieve it.
Your Central Executive
4. Your Central Executive. Finally, your central executive pulls together
and integrates the information from these three other systems—
the visuospatial sketchpad, the phonological loop, and the
episodic buffer. In addition, this executive function helps to determine
where you are going to place your attention and suppresses
irrelevant or unimportant information, so you can stay focused on
what’s important and not be distracted by what isn’t. It also helps
you plan strategies and coordinate behavior, so you decide what to
do next and what not to do. Then you don’t get pulled away from
what you most want to do.26
Think of this as the top executive or senior manager in charge of
all of these other systems, which doesn’t store information itself.
Rather, like the executive of a company, it sets the priorities for what
these other sections of your memory should be doing. Or as Matlin
puts it: ‘‘like an executive supervisor in an organization . . . the [central]
executive decides which issues deserve attention and which
should be ignored. The executive also selects strategies, figuring out
how to tackle a problem.’’27
For example, when you decide what task you are going to work
on at work and seek to remember what your boss has instructed you
to do, along with what else you know about how to best perform
the task, that’s your central executive pulling together what is most
relevant from the other sections of your working and long-term
memory, so you can better perform the task.
* * *
So there you have it—the basic structure of how your memory
works, according to the latest research from cognitive psychologists.
In subsequent chapters, I’ll be drawing on this model as I describe
different techniques for optimizing your memory. Accordingly, you’ll
find techniques for strengthening your ability to work with images
(your visuospatial sketchpad), with verbal and audio input (your
phonological loop), with your ability to temporarily coordinate the
input from the other components of your memory (your episodic
buffer), and with your ability to use all of this information in a mindful,
coordinated, and strategic way (your central executive). 26
and integrates the information from these three other systems—
the visuospatial sketchpad, the phonological loop, and the
episodic buffer. In addition, this executive function helps to determine
where you are going to place your attention and suppresses
irrelevant or unimportant information, so you can stay focused on
what’s important and not be distracted by what isn’t. It also helps
you plan strategies and coordinate behavior, so you decide what to
do next and what not to do. Then you don’t get pulled away from
what you most want to do.26
Think of this as the top executive or senior manager in charge of
all of these other systems, which doesn’t store information itself.
Rather, like the executive of a company, it sets the priorities for what
these other sections of your memory should be doing. Or as Matlin
puts it: ‘‘like an executive supervisor in an organization . . . the [central]
executive decides which issues deserve attention and which
should be ignored. The executive also selects strategies, figuring out
how to tackle a problem.’’27
For example, when you decide what task you are going to work
on at work and seek to remember what your boss has instructed you
to do, along with what else you know about how to best perform
the task, that’s your central executive pulling together what is most
relevant from the other sections of your working and long-term
memory, so you can better perform the task.
* * *
So there you have it—the basic structure of how your memory
works, according to the latest research from cognitive psychologists.
In subsequent chapters, I’ll be drawing on this model as I describe
different techniques for optimizing your memory. Accordingly, you’ll
find techniques for strengthening your ability to work with images
(your visuospatial sketchpad), with verbal and audio input (your
phonological loop), with your ability to temporarily coordinate the
input from the other components of your memory (your episodic
buffer), and with your ability to use all of this information in a mindful,
coordinated, and strategic way (your central executive). 26
Your Episodic Buffer
3. Your Episodic Buffer. This section of your working memory is
essentially a temporary storehouse where you can collect and combine
information that you have gotten from your visuospatial sketchpad
and phonological loop, along with your long-term memory.24
Think of this like a notebook or page in a word processing program
where you are working with sentences, graphic images, and then
thinking about what else you would like to add from what you already
know. As Margaret Matlin describes it, the episodic buffer ‘‘actively
manipulates information so that you can interpret an earlier
experience, solve new problems, and plan future activities.’’25
For example, say a co-worker says something to you at work that
offends you. This is where you might consider the words the person
just said, the context in which he said it, and take into consideration
what you remember from how this co-worker has acted toward you
before (which comes from your long-term memory). Then, this episodic
buffer helps you quickly decide what to do in light of how you
have interpreted this offending remark.
essentially a temporary storehouse where you can collect and combine
information that you have gotten from your visuospatial sketchpad
and phonological loop, along with your long-term memory.24
Think of this like a notebook or page in a word processing program
where you are working with sentences, graphic images, and then
thinking about what else you would like to add from what you already
know. As Margaret Matlin describes it, the episodic buffer ‘‘actively
manipulates information so that you can interpret an earlier
experience, solve new problems, and plan future activities.’’25
For example, say a co-worker says something to you at work that
offends you. This is where you might consider the words the person
just said, the context in which he said it, and take into consideration
what you remember from how this co-worker has acted toward you
before (which comes from your long-term memory). Then, this episodic
buffer helps you quickly decide what to do in light of how you
have interpreted this offending remark.
Your Phonological Loop
2. Your Phonological Loop. Just as your visuospatial sketchpad
stores images briefly while you are working with them, your phonological
loop stores a small number of sounds for a brief period.21 Generally,
researchers have found that you can hold about as many
words as you can mentally pronounce to yourself in 1.5 seconds, so
you can remember more short words than long ones.22
A good example of how this works is when you are trying to
remember what you or someone else has just said. Without memory
training to put those words in long-term memory, you will normally
only be able to clearly remember back what has been said in the last
1.5 seconds, though you will remember the gist of what you or the
other person has said. Also, because of this 1.5-second limit, you will
be better able to remember more shorter names than longer ones,
such as when you are introduced to a number of people at a business
mixer or cocktail party. It’s simply much easier to remember names
like Brown and Cooper than longer and more unusual ones.
You’ll also find that just as working with different types of visual
imagery can cause interference, so can working with different types
of audio sounds. For example, if you are trying to remember a phone
number and someone says something to you, that can interfere with
your ability to remember that number. But if you are looking at
something while you are trying to remember the number, that won’t
interfere as long as you continue to pay attention to remembering
that number, since your visual observation is processed in your visuospatial
sketchpad.
Then, too, just as similar visual imagery can cause memory errors,
so can hearing similar sounding words or numbers, such as
when you find yourself meeting a Margaret, Maggie, and Mary at a
party. The names can blend together in your mind and you have
trouble remembering who is who. Or say you are trying to remember
a phone number you have gotten from a message so you can write it
down.Well, if you are given two phone numbers to remember—such
as this is my land line and this is my cell phone—the two numbers
can interfere with each other, so you might mix up numbers or just
not remember at all. Or if you are trying to recall and write down a
number that’s close to another phone number you already know,
that could interfere with your ability to remember the new one.
But the reason that visual images won’t interfere with trying to
remember words or other audio sounds, as long as you are attending
to both, is that the audio processing occurs in a different section of
your brain—in the left hemisphere of your brain, which is the side
of your brain that handles language. Plus the auditory information
is stored in the parietal lobe of your brain, though when you practice
working with this information, your frontal lobe section that processes
speech will become active too.
stores images briefly while you are working with them, your phonological
loop stores a small number of sounds for a brief period.21 Generally,
researchers have found that you can hold about as many
words as you can mentally pronounce to yourself in 1.5 seconds, so
you can remember more short words than long ones.22
A good example of how this works is when you are trying to
remember what you or someone else has just said. Without memory
training to put those words in long-term memory, you will normally
only be able to clearly remember back what has been said in the last
1.5 seconds, though you will remember the gist of what you or the
other person has said. Also, because of this 1.5-second limit, you will
be better able to remember more shorter names than longer ones,
such as when you are introduced to a number of people at a business
mixer or cocktail party. It’s simply much easier to remember names
like Brown and Cooper than longer and more unusual ones.
You’ll also find that just as working with different types of visual
imagery can cause interference, so can working with different types
of audio sounds. For example, if you are trying to remember a phone
number and someone says something to you, that can interfere with
your ability to remember that number. But if you are looking at
something while you are trying to remember the number, that won’t
interfere as long as you continue to pay attention to remembering
that number, since your visual observation is processed in your visuospatial
sketchpad.
Then, too, just as similar visual imagery can cause memory errors,
so can hearing similar sounding words or numbers, such as
when you find yourself meeting a Margaret, Maggie, and Mary at a
party. The names can blend together in your mind and you have
trouble remembering who is who. Or say you are trying to remember
a phone number you have gotten from a message so you can write it
down.Well, if you are given two phone numbers to remember—such
as this is my land line and this is my cell phone—the two numbers
can interfere with each other, so you might mix up numbers or just
not remember at all. Or if you are trying to recall and write down a
number that’s close to another phone number you already know,
that could interfere with your ability to remember the new one.
But the reason that visual images won’t interfere with trying to
remember words or other audio sounds, as long as you are attending
to both, is that the audio processing occurs in a different section of
your brain—in the left hemisphere of your brain, which is the side
of your brain that handles language. Plus the auditory information
is stored in the parietal lobe of your brain, though when you practice
working with this information, your frontal lobe section that processes
speech will become active too.
15 Mart 2011 Salı
Your Visuospatial Sketchpad
1. Your Visuospatial Sketchpad. Consider this a drawing pad in
which you place visual images as you see something or where you
sketch the images you create in your mind when someone tells you
something.20 For example, as you watch a TV show or movie, the
series of images you see get placed on this sketchpad, and some of
the most memorable will move on to your long-term memory. You
won’t remember every detail, since there are thousands of such images
zipping by in a minute. But your memory for these images will
string them together—and as you improve your memory for visual
details, you will be able to notice and remember more.
This is also the section of your memory that works on turning
what you are hearing or thinking about into visual images. For example,
as you read or hear a story, this is where you create images
for what you are listening to, so it becomes like a movie in your
mind. Or suppose you are trying to work out a math problem in your
mind. This is where you would see the numbers appear, such as if
you are trying to multiply 24 33 and don’t already have a multiplication
table for that problem in your mind. You would see the individual
rows as you multiply and then add them together.
However, while you might be able to see and keep in memory
one image very well, you will have less ability as the number of images
increase, and you may find that one image interferes with another.
For example, if you are driving while trying to think about
and visualize the solution to some kind of problem, your thoughts
could well interfere with your driving. I found this out for myself
when I was trying to multiply some numbers in my mind and took
the wrong turn-off because I was distracted by seeing the problem
in my mind. But if you are only listening to music on the radio or to
someone speaking without forming images, that will not interfere—
or at least to the same degree.
You might think of this process of trying to work with more and
more images at the same time as looking at the windows on a computer
screen. As you add more windows to work with at the same
time, the individual windows get smaller and smaller, as do the images;
you are less able to see what is in each image distinctly, and
your attention to one window may be distracted by what is flashing
by in another.
Intriguingly, brain researchers (also called neuroscientists) have
found that these images you see in your visuospatial sketchpad correspond
to real places in your brain. As neuroscientists have found,
when you work with a visual image, it activates the right hemisphere
of your cortex, the top section of your brain, and in particular they
activate the occipital lobe, at the rear of your cortex. Then, as you
engage in some mental task involving this image, your frontal lobe
will get in on the action, too.
Researchers have been able to tell what part of the brain is associated
with different types of thinking by using PET (positron emission
tomography) scans, where they measure the blood flow to the
brain by injecting a person with a radioactive chemical just before
they perform some kind of mental task. They find that certain
sections of the brain have more blood flow, indicating more activity
there for different types of mental tasks. 23
which you place visual images as you see something or where you
sketch the images you create in your mind when someone tells you
something.20 For example, as you watch a TV show or movie, the
series of images you see get placed on this sketchpad, and some of
the most memorable will move on to your long-term memory. You
won’t remember every detail, since there are thousands of such images
zipping by in a minute. But your memory for these images will
string them together—and as you improve your memory for visual
details, you will be able to notice and remember more.
This is also the section of your memory that works on turning
what you are hearing or thinking about into visual images. For example,
as you read or hear a story, this is where you create images
for what you are listening to, so it becomes like a movie in your
mind. Or suppose you are trying to work out a math problem in your
mind. This is where you would see the numbers appear, such as if
you are trying to multiply 24 33 and don’t already have a multiplication
table for that problem in your mind. You would see the individual
rows as you multiply and then add them together.
However, while you might be able to see and keep in memory
one image very well, you will have less ability as the number of images
increase, and you may find that one image interferes with another.
For example, if you are driving while trying to think about
and visualize the solution to some kind of problem, your thoughts
could well interfere with your driving. I found this out for myself
when I was trying to multiply some numbers in my mind and took
the wrong turn-off because I was distracted by seeing the problem
in my mind. But if you are only listening to music on the radio or to
someone speaking without forming images, that will not interfere—
or at least to the same degree.
You might think of this process of trying to work with more and
more images at the same time as looking at the windows on a computer
screen. As you add more windows to work with at the same
time, the individual windows get smaller and smaller, as do the images;
you are less able to see what is in each image distinctly, and
your attention to one window may be distracted by what is flashing
by in another.
Intriguingly, brain researchers (also called neuroscientists) have
found that these images you see in your visuospatial sketchpad correspond
to real places in your brain. As neuroscientists have found,
when you work with a visual image, it activates the right hemisphere
of your cortex, the top section of your brain, and in particular they
activate the occipital lobe, at the rear of your cortex. Then, as you
engage in some mental task involving this image, your frontal lobe
will get in on the action, too.
Researchers have been able to tell what part of the brain is associated
with different types of thinking by using PET (positron emission
tomography) scans, where they measure the blood flow to the
brain by injecting a person with a radioactive chemical just before
they perform some kind of mental task. They find that certain
sections of the brain have more blood flow, indicating more activity
there for different types of mental tasks. 23
The Four Components of Your Working Memory
I have been describing the working memory as a single thing—like
a temporary storage box. In fact, cognitive psychologists today think
of the memory as having several components, and you can work on
making improvements for each of these components to improve the
initial processing of items in your memory. You might think of this
process as fine-tuning the different components in a home entertainment
system. For optimal quality and enjoyment, you need to fully
coordinate your big-screen television, VCR, DVD, cable or satellite
hookup, and sound system.
According to this current working memory model, which was
developed by Alan Baddeley in 2000, there are four major components
that together enable you to hold several bits or chunks of information
in your mind at the same time, so your mind can work on
this information and then use it.17 Commonly, these bits of information
will be interrelated, such as when you are reading a sentence
and need to remember the beginning before you get to the end—
though as a sentence gets longer and more complicated, you may
find that you are losing the sense of it, especially if you get distracted
while you are reading. But sometimes you might juggle some disparate
bits of information, such as when you are driving and trying to
remember where to turn off at the same time that you are having a
conversation with a friend. Another example of this juggling is when
you use your working memory to do mental arithmetic, like when
you are balancing a checkbook; thinking about a problem and trying
to figure out how to solve it; or following a discussion at a meeting
and comparing what one person has just argued with what someone
else said before.
The four key working memory components are coordinated by a
kind of manager called the ‘‘central executive,’’ which is in charge
of the other three components: the ‘‘visuospatial sketchpad,’’ the
‘‘episodic buffer,’’ and the ‘‘phonological loop.’’ Since they work independently
of each other, you can handle a series of different memory
tasks at the same time, such as remembering a visual image at
the same time that you remember something you are listening to.
You might think of these separate components as all part of a workbench
that processes any information coming into it, such as the
perceptions from the senses and any long-term memories pulled out
of storage. Then, your working memory variously handles, combines,
or transforms this material and passes some of these materials it has
worked on into your long-term memory.18 So one way to improve
your memory is to improve the ability of each of these elements of
your working memory to process information so that you can more
effectively and efficiently send the information you want into your
long-term memory.
A chart of these four components of your working memory,
which is based on Alan Baddeley’s working memory model, looks
something like this:
So what exactly do these four components do? Here’s the latest
scoop on what modern psychologists are thinking:
a temporary storage box. In fact, cognitive psychologists today think
of the memory as having several components, and you can work on
making improvements for each of these components to improve the
initial processing of items in your memory. You might think of this
process as fine-tuning the different components in a home entertainment
system. For optimal quality and enjoyment, you need to fully
coordinate your big-screen television, VCR, DVD, cable or satellite
hookup, and sound system.
According to this current working memory model, which was
developed by Alan Baddeley in 2000, there are four major components
that together enable you to hold several bits or chunks of information
in your mind at the same time, so your mind can work on
this information and then use it.17 Commonly, these bits of information
will be interrelated, such as when you are reading a sentence
and need to remember the beginning before you get to the end—
though as a sentence gets longer and more complicated, you may
find that you are losing the sense of it, especially if you get distracted
while you are reading. But sometimes you might juggle some disparate
bits of information, such as when you are driving and trying to
remember where to turn off at the same time that you are having a
conversation with a friend. Another example of this juggling is when
you use your working memory to do mental arithmetic, like when
you are balancing a checkbook; thinking about a problem and trying
to figure out how to solve it; or following a discussion at a meeting
and comparing what one person has just argued with what someone
else said before.
The four key working memory components are coordinated by a
kind of manager called the ‘‘central executive,’’ which is in charge
of the other three components: the ‘‘visuospatial sketchpad,’’ the
‘‘episodic buffer,’’ and the ‘‘phonological loop.’’ Since they work independently
of each other, you can handle a series of different memory
tasks at the same time, such as remembering a visual image at
the same time that you remember something you are listening to.
You might think of these separate components as all part of a workbench
that processes any information coming into it, such as the
perceptions from the senses and any long-term memories pulled out
of storage. Then, your working memory variously handles, combines,
or transforms this material and passes some of these materials it has
worked on into your long-term memory.18 So one way to improve
your memory is to improve the ability of each of these elements of
your working memory to process information so that you can more
effectively and efficiently send the information you want into your
long-term memory.
A chart of these four components of your working memory,
which is based on Alan Baddeley’s working memory model, looks
something like this:
So what exactly do these four components do? Here’s the latest
scoop on what modern psychologists are thinking:
Some Barriers to Remembering
Researchers have found that there are some cognitive barriers to a
better memory that will slow you down. One is having longer names
or words, especially when they have odd spellings and many syllables.
Even trying to take a mental picture of the name or word may
not work, because saying it verbally to yourself is an important part
of putting a new name or word into your memory.
For example, I found the long words and names a real stumbling
block when I tried to learn Russian two times—once when I was
still in college, and later when I was taking occasional classes at a
community college in San Francisco. I could even manage seeing the
words in Cyrillic, converting them into their English sound equivalent.
But once the words grew to more than seven or eight letters, I
had to slow down to sound out each syllable and it was a real struggle
to remember. Had I known the principle of chunking back then,
I’m sure I would have caught on much sooner.
Another barrier to memory is interference; if some other name,
word, or idea that you already have in your working memory is similar
to what you are learning, it can interfere with your remembering
something new correctly. And the more similar the two items, the
greater the interference16 and the more likely you are to mix them
up. Again, researchers have come to these conclusions by looking at
words (or even nonsense words) and pictures, and asking subjects
to remember these items after learning a series of similar items. But
you can take steps to keep what you have learned before from interfering
with what you learn in the future. As you’ll discover in Chapter
5 on paying attention, you can stop the interference by intensely
focusing on what you want to remember and turning your attention
away from what is similar and interfering with your memory now.
better memory that will slow you down. One is having longer names
or words, especially when they have odd spellings and many syllables.
Even trying to take a mental picture of the name or word may
not work, because saying it verbally to yourself is an important part
of putting a new name or word into your memory.
For example, I found the long words and names a real stumbling
block when I tried to learn Russian two times—once when I was
still in college, and later when I was taking occasional classes at a
community college in San Francisco. I could even manage seeing the
words in Cyrillic, converting them into their English sound equivalent.
But once the words grew to more than seven or eight letters, I
had to slow down to sound out each syllable and it was a real struggle
to remember. Had I known the principle of chunking back then,
I’m sure I would have caught on much sooner.
Another barrier to memory is interference; if some other name,
word, or idea that you already have in your working memory is similar
to what you are learning, it can interfere with your remembering
something new correctly. And the more similar the two items, the
greater the interference16 and the more likely you are to mix them
up. Again, researchers have come to these conclusions by looking at
words (or even nonsense words) and pictures, and asking subjects
to remember these items after learning a series of similar items. But
you can take steps to keep what you have learned before from interfering
with what you learn in the future. As you’ll discover in Chapter
5 on paying attention, you can stop the interference by intensely
focusing on what you want to remember and turning your attention
away from what is similar and interfering with your memory now.
The Power of Your Working Memory
How much information can you actually hold in your working memory—
what can you deal with on your desktop at one time? Well,
when researchers began studying the working memory, they came
up with some of the findings that are still accepted and incorporated
into models of memory today.
One of these findings is the well-known Magic Number Seven
principle, which was first written about by George Miller in 1956 in
an article titled ‘‘The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two:
Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.’’ He suggested
that we can only hold about seven items, give or take two—or
five to nine items—in our short-term memory (which was the term
originally used for the working memory). However, if you group
items together into what Miller calls ‘‘chunks’’—units of short-term
memory composed of several strongly related components—you can
remember more.13 And in Chapter 12 you’ll learn more about how to
do your own chunking to improve your memory capacity.
You can see examples of how this Number Seven principle and
chunking work if you consider your phone number and social security
number. One reason the phone number was originally seven
numbers and divided into two groups of numbers is because of this
principle—then when the area code was added, the phone number
was split up or chunked into three sections. Similarly, your social
security number is divided into three chunks. And when you look at
your bank account, you’ll see that number is chunked up into several
sections. As for memory experts who can reel off long strings of
numbers, they do their own mental chunking so they can remember.
They don’t have a single, very long string of numbers in their mind.
However you chunk it, though, whatever material comes into
your working or short-term memory is frequently forgotten if you
hold it in your memory for less than a minute14—a finding repeatedly
confirmed by hundreds of studies by cognitive psychologists.
That’s why you normally have to do something to make that memory
memorable if you want to retain it.
Yet, while you want to improve your memory for things you
want to remember, you don’t want to try to improve it for everything.
Otherwise your mind would be so hopelessly cluttered, you
would have trouble retrieving what you want. For example, think of
the many activities and thoughts you experience each day, many of
them part of a regular routine. Well, normally, you don’t want to
remember the minutia of all that, lest you drown in an overwhelming
flood of perceptual data. It would be like having an ocean of
memories, where the small memory fish you want to catch easily
slip away and get lost in the vast watery expanses. But if something
unusual happens—say a robber suddenly appears in the bank where
you are about to a make a deposit—then you do want to remember
the event accurately. So that’s when it’s important to focus and pay
attention in order to capture that particular memory, much like reeling
in a targeted fish.
Memory researchers have also found that your short-term or
working memory is affected by when you get information about
something, which is called the ‘‘serial position effect.’’ In general,
whatever type of information you are trying to memorize, you will
better remember what you first learn (called the ‘‘primacy effect’’) or
what you learn most recently (called the ‘‘recency effect’’).15 When
psychologists have tested these effects by giving numerous subjects
lists of words that vary in word length and the number of words, the
results show a similar pattern. Subjects can generally remember two
to seven items and are most likely to remember the most recent
items first. In turn, you can use that principle when you want to
remember a list of anything, from a grocery list to a list of tasks to
do.
what can you deal with on your desktop at one time? Well,
when researchers began studying the working memory, they came
up with some of the findings that are still accepted and incorporated
into models of memory today.
One of these findings is the well-known Magic Number Seven
principle, which was first written about by George Miller in 1956 in
an article titled ‘‘The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two:
Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.’’ He suggested
that we can only hold about seven items, give or take two—or
five to nine items—in our short-term memory (which was the term
originally used for the working memory). However, if you group
items together into what Miller calls ‘‘chunks’’—units of short-term
memory composed of several strongly related components—you can
remember more.13 And in Chapter 12 you’ll learn more about how to
do your own chunking to improve your memory capacity.
You can see examples of how this Number Seven principle and
chunking work if you consider your phone number and social security
number. One reason the phone number was originally seven
numbers and divided into two groups of numbers is because of this
principle—then when the area code was added, the phone number
was split up or chunked into three sections. Similarly, your social
security number is divided into three chunks. And when you look at
your bank account, you’ll see that number is chunked up into several
sections. As for memory experts who can reel off long strings of
numbers, they do their own mental chunking so they can remember.
They don’t have a single, very long string of numbers in their mind.
However you chunk it, though, whatever material comes into
your working or short-term memory is frequently forgotten if you
hold it in your memory for less than a minute14—a finding repeatedly
confirmed by hundreds of studies by cognitive psychologists.
That’s why you normally have to do something to make that memory
memorable if you want to retain it.
Yet, while you want to improve your memory for things you
want to remember, you don’t want to try to improve it for everything.
Otherwise your mind would be so hopelessly cluttered, you
would have trouble retrieving what you want. For example, think of
the many activities and thoughts you experience each day, many of
them part of a regular routine. Well, normally, you don’t want to
remember the minutia of all that, lest you drown in an overwhelming
flood of perceptual data. It would be like having an ocean of
memories, where the small memory fish you want to catch easily
slip away and get lost in the vast watery expanses. But if something
unusual happens—say a robber suddenly appears in the bank where
you are about to a make a deposit—then you do want to remember
the event accurately. So that’s when it’s important to focus and pay
attention in order to capture that particular memory, much like reeling
in a targeted fish.
Memory researchers have also found that your short-term or
working memory is affected by when you get information about
something, which is called the ‘‘serial position effect.’’ In general,
whatever type of information you are trying to memorize, you will
better remember what you first learn (called the ‘‘primacy effect’’) or
what you learn most recently (called the ‘‘recency effect’’).15 When
psychologists have tested these effects by giving numerous subjects
lists of words that vary in word length and the number of words, the
results show a similar pattern. Subjects can generally remember two
to seven items and are most likely to remember the most recent
items first. In turn, you can use that principle when you want to
remember a list of anything, from a grocery list to a list of tasks to
do.
14 Mart 2011 Pazartesi
From Perception to Working Memory to Long-Term Memory
Memory starts with an initial perception as you are paying attention
to something, whether your attention is barely registering the perception
or you are really focused on it. So, as described in Chapter 5,
one of the keys to improving your memory is paying more attention
in the first place.
The next stop is your working memory, which is your brief, initial
memory of whatever you are currently processing. A part of this
working memory acts as a central processor or coordinator to organize
your current mental activities.11 You might think of the process
as having a screen on your computer that has the information you
are currently reading or writing. As psychologist Margaret Matlin
explains it, your ‘‘working memory lets you keep information active
and accessible, so that you can use it in a wide variety of cognitive
tasks.’’12 Your working memory decides what type of information is
useful to you now, drawing this out from the very large amount of
information you have—in your long-term memory or from the input
you have recently received. Think of yourself sitting in front of a
desk with expansive drawers representing what’s in your long-term
memory and a cluttered top of your desk representing what’s in your
working memory. Then, you as the central executive (the working
memory) decide what information you want to deal with now and
what to do with it. 17
to something, whether your attention is barely registering the perception
or you are really focused on it. So, as described in Chapter 5,
one of the keys to improving your memory is paying more attention
in the first place.
The next stop is your working memory, which is your brief, initial
memory of whatever you are currently processing. A part of this
working memory acts as a central processor or coordinator to organize
your current mental activities.11 You might think of the process
as having a screen on your computer that has the information you
are currently reading or writing. As psychologist Margaret Matlin
explains it, your ‘‘working memory lets you keep information active
and accessible, so that you can use it in a wide variety of cognitive
tasks.’’12 Your working memory decides what type of information is
useful to you now, drawing this out from the very large amount of
information you have—in your long-term memory or from the input
you have recently received. Think of yourself sitting in front of a
desk with expansive drawers representing what’s in your long-term
memory and a cluttered top of your desk representing what’s in your
working memory. Then, you as the central executive (the working
memory) decide what information you want to deal with now and
what to do with it. 17
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