Psychology / Unit 6: Memory and Thinking
6.3 Encoding Strategies
Notes
Better encoding makes memories stronger.
- Effortful processing takes attention; automatic processing happens without effort (such as noticing where you ate lunch).
- Levels of processing: deeper, meaning-based processing beats shallow processing (looking at appearance or sound). Thinking about meaning leads to better recall.
- Elaborative rehearsal links new information with what you already know. Simply repeating (maintenance rehearsal) is weaker.
- Mnemonics help: acronyms, imagery, the method of loci, rhymes.
- Spacing effect: studying in several sessions over days beats cramming. Testing effect: practicing recall beats rereading.
- Self-reference effect: information related to yourself is remembered better.
Practice
Which study plan is best supported by research on memory?
The spacing effect and testing effect improve long-term retention.
Which kind of processing leads to the best memory for a word?
Deeper, meaning-based processing produces stronger memory.
Using "ROY G BIV" to remember the colors of the rainbow is an example of:
An acronym is a mnemonic device.
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