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Psychology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	What are some everyday ways we can improve our memory, including recall? To help make sure information goes from short-term memory to long-term memory, you can use <OpenstaxTerm>memory-enhancing strategies</OpenstaxTerm>. One strategy is <OpenstaxTerm>rehearsal</OpenstaxTerm>, or the conscious repetition of information to be remembered (Craik &amp; Watkins, 1973). Think about how you learned your multiplication tables as a child. You may recall that 6 x 6 = 36, 6 x 7 = 42, and 6 x 8 = 48. Memorizing these facts is rehearsal.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Another strategy is <OpenstaxTerm>chunking</OpenstaxTerm>: you organize information into manageable bits or chunks (Bodie, Powers, &amp; Fitch-Hauser, 2006). Chunking is useful when trying to remember information like dates and phone numbers. Instead of trying to remember 5205550467, you remember the number as 520-555-0467. So, if you met an interesting person at a party and you wanted to remember his phone number, you would naturally chunk it, and you could repeat the number over and over, which is the rehearsal strategy.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Link to Learning </OpenstaxNoteTitle> 
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Try this <a href="http://openstax.org/l/memgame">fun activity that employs a memory-enhancing strategy</a> to learn more.
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxNote>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	You could also enhance memory by using <OpenstaxTerm>elaborative rehearsal</OpenstaxTerm>: a technique in which you think about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory (Tigner, 1999). Elaborative rehearsal involves both linking the information to knowledge already stored and repeating the information. For example, in this case, you could remember that 520 is an area code for Arizona and the person you met is from Arizona. This would help you better remember the 520 prefix. If the information is retained, it goes into long-term memory.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxTerm>Mnemonic devices</OpenstaxTerm> are memory aids that help us organize information for encoding (<a href="#Figure_08_04_Knuckles">Figure 8.18</a>). They are especially useful when we want to recall larger bits of information such as steps, stages, phases, and parts of a system (Bellezza, 1981). Brian needs to learn the order of the planets in the solar system, but he’s having a hard time remembering the correct order. His friend Kelly suggests a mnemonic device that can help him remember. Kelly tells Brian to simply remember the name Mr. VEM J. SUN, and he can easily recall the correct order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. You might use a mnemonic device to help you remember someone’s name, a mathematical formula, or the order of mathematical operations.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="Figure_08_04_Knuckles" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/4df9b85136bb00ee04456b031aa0c344e54f282e" alt="A photograph shows a person’s two hands clenched into fists so the knuckles show. The knuckles are labeled with the months and the number of days in each month, with the knuckle protrusions corresponding to the months with 31 days, and the indentations between knuckles corresponding to February and the months with 30 days." mediaType="image/jpeg" width="650" height="432" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="650">
	Figure 8.18 This is a knuckle mnemonic to help you remember the number of days in each month. Months with 31 days are represented by the protruding knuckles and shorter months fall in the spots between knuckles. (credit: modification of work by Cory Zanker)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	If you have ever watched the television show <OpenstaxEm>Modern Family</OpenstaxEm>, you might have seen Phil Dunphy explain how he remembers names:
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxBlockquote>
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		The other day I met this guy named Carl. Now, I might forget that name, but he was wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt. What’s a band like the Grateful Dead? Phish. Where do fish live? The ocean. What else lives in the ocean? Coral. Hello, Co-arl. (Wrubel &amp; Spiller, 2010)
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxBlockquote>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	It seems the more vivid or unusual the mnemonic, the easier it is to remember. The key to using any mnemonic successfully is to find a strategy that works for you.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Link to Learning </OpenstaxNoteTitle> 
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Joshua Foer is a science writer who "accidentally" won the U.S. Memory Championships. Watch his <a href="http://openstax.org/l/foer">TEDTalk, titled "Feats of Memory Anyone Can Do," in which he explains a mnemonic device called the memory palace</a> to learn more.
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxNote>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Some other strategies that are used to improve memory include expressive writing and saying words aloud. Expressive writing helps boost your short-term memory, particularly if you write about a traumatic experience in your life. Masao Yogo and Shuji Fujihara (2008) had participants write for 20-minute intervals several times per month. The participants were instructed to write about a traumatic experience, their best possible future selves, or a trivial topic. The researchers found that this simple writing task increased short-term memory capacity after five weeks, but only for the participants who wrote about traumatic experiences. Psychologists can’t explain why this writing task works, but it does.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	What if you want to remember items you need to pick up at the store? Simply say them out loud to yourself. A series of studies (MacLeod, Gopie, Hourihan, Neary, &amp; Ozubko, 2010) found that saying a word out loud improves your memory for the word because it increases the word’s distinctiveness. Feel silly, saying random grocery items aloud? This technique works equally well if you just mouth the words. Using these techniques increased participants’ memory for the words by more than 10%. These techniques can also be used to help you study.
</OpenstaxParagraph>

8.4.1 Memory-Enhancing Strategies

1 Introduction to Psychology

1.1 What Is Psychology?

1.1.1 Why Study Psychology?

1.2 History of Psychology

1.2.1 Wundt and Structuralism

1.2.2 Functionalism

1.2.3 Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory

1.2.4 Wertheimer, Koffka, Köhler, and Gestalt Psychology

1.2.5 Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, and Behaviorism

1.2.6 Maslow, Rogers, and Humanism

1.2.7 The Cognitive Revolution

1.2.8 Multicultural And Cross-Cultural Psychology

1.2.9 Women in Psychology

1.3 Contemporary Psychology

1.3.1 Biopsychology and Evolutionary Psychology

1.3.2 Sensation and Perception

1.3.3 Cognitive Psychology

1.3.4 Developmental Psychology

1.3.5 Personality Psychology

1.3.6 Social Psychology

1.3.7 Industrial-Organizational Psychology

1.3.8 Health Psychology

1.3.9 Sport and Exercise Psychology

1.3.10 Clinical Psychology

1.3.11 Forensic Psychology

1.4 Careers in Psychology

1.4.1 Other Careers in Academic Settings

1.4.2 Career Options Outside of Academic Settings

2 Psychological Research

2.1 Why Is Research Important?

2.1.1 Use of Research Information

2.1.2 NOTABLE RESEARCHERS

2.1.3 The Process of Scientific Research

2.2 Approaches to Research

2.2.1 Clinical or Case Studies

2.2.2 Naturalistic Observation

2.2.3 Surveys

2.2.4 Archival Research

2.2.5 Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research

2.3 Analyzing Findings

2.3.1 Correlational Research

2.3.2 Causality: Conducting Experiments and Using the Data

2.3.3 Reliability and Validity

2.4 Ethics

2.4.1 Research Involving Human Participants

2.4.2 Research Involving Animal Subjects

3 Biopsychology

3.1 Human Genetics

3.1.1 Genetic Variation

3.1.2 Gene-Environment Interactions

3.2 Cells of the Nervous System

3.2.1 Neuron Structure

3.2.2 Neuronal Communication

3.2.3 Neurotransmitters and Drugs

3.3 Parts of the Nervous System

3.3.1 Peripheral Nervous System

3.4 The Brain and Spinal Cord

3.4.1 The Spinal Cord

3.4.2 The Two Hemispheres

3.4.3 Forebrain Structures

3.4.4 Midbrain and Hindbrain Structures

3.4.5 Brain Imaging

3.5 The Endocrine System

3.5.1 Major Glands

4 States of Consciousness

4.1 What Is Consciousness?

4.1.1 Biological Rhythms

4.1.2 Problems With Circadian Rhythms

4.2 Sleep and Why We Sleep

4.2.1 What is Sleep?

4.2.2 Why Do We Sleep?

4.3 Stages of Sleep

4.3.1 NREM Stages of Sleep

4.3.2 REM Sleep

4.4 Sleep Problems and Disorders

4.4.1 Insomnia

4.4.2 Parasomnias

4.4.3 Sleep Apnea

4.4.4 Narcolepsy

4.5 Substance Use and Abuse

4.5.1 Substance Use Disorders

4.5.2 Drug Categories

4.6 Other States of Consciousness

4.6.1 Hypnosis

4.6.2 Meditation

5 Sensation and Perception

5.1 Sensation versus Perception

5.1.1 Sensation

5.1.2 Perception

5.2 Waves and Wavelengths

5.2.1 Amplitude and Wavelength

5.2.2 Light Waves

5.2.3 Sound Waves

5.3 Vision

5.3.1 Anatomy of the Visual System

5.3.2 Color and Depth Perception

5.4 Hearing

5.4.1 Anatomy of the Auditory System

5.4.2 Pitch Perception

Question	Answer
organizing information into manageable bits or chunks	chunking
thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory	elaborative rehearsal