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Cognitive
Psychology PSY 504
VU
Lecture
39
Memory
Representation of
knowledge
Applications
for studying
Numerous
manipulations to improve subjects'
memory in recalling a long
list of items are
given
below. So the
applications of studying are
given,
Method
of Loci
PQ4R
Method
Elaborate
Spacing
Effect
Encoding
variability
1.
Method of Loci
A
classical mnemonic technique
has its effect by promoting
good organization in recall
situations.
This
technique, used extensively in
ancient times when speeches
were given without
written
notes,
is still used today. Loci
are the plural of locus, it
means location. Basically, to
use the
method
of loci the individual
imagines a fixed path
through a familiar area with
some fixed
locations
along the path.
2.
PQ4R Method
This
is also an important technique.
The PQ4R method drives
its name from the
six phases it
advocates
for studying a chapter in a
textbook:
Preview
Survey
the chapter to determine the
general topics being
discussed. Identify the
sections to be
read
as units. Apply the next
four steps to each section.
For example, when starting a
new
book,
skim it quickly. Look at
some pictures or diagrams.
Study the table of contents.
When
starting
a new chapter, look at
different headings. Create a
rough idea of what this
chapter is
about.
Questions
Make
up questions about the
section. Often, transforming
section headings, simply,
results in
adequate
questions. For example, make
questions based on headings.
Icon: what is an
icon?
How
is it defined? Attention: How
does attention link with
the Icon? How is Echo
different from
Icon?
How is it similar?
Read
Read
the section carefully,
trying to answer the
questions you have made up
about it. You can
always
modify your questions in the
light of what you have
read. Interact with the
text as you
read
it. Make it an active exercise
not a passive one.
Reflect
Reflect
on the text as you are
reading it trying to understand
it, to think of examples and
to
relate
the material to prior
knowledge. How is it going to
help? What are the
possible
applications
of the material?
Recite
After
finishing a section, try to
recall the information
contained in it. Try
answering the
questions
you
made up for the section. If
you can not recall
enough, reread the portions
you had trouble
remembering.
Recall the text as you
try to answer your own
questions mentally. Notice
any part
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Cognitive
Psychology PSY 504
VU
you
remember better than others.
Have another look at the
material not yet learned.
Try and
recall
it.
Review
After
you have finished the
chapter, go through it mentally,
recalling its points. Again
try
answering
the questions you made
up. Have another look at
the text. See if all
the questions
have
been answered. See if there
is additional important information to be
remembered. Examine
your
notes and compare these
with the text.
One
of the reasons for the
success of this kind of this
technique is that all the
passes through the
material
serve as spaced study the
way the material is
organized. So, organization
leads to good
memory,
especially on free type
tests.
The
central feature of the PQ4R
technique however is the
question generation and
question-
answering
characteristics. There is reason to
suspect that the most
important aspect of
this
feature
is that it encourages deeper or
more elaborative processing of
the text the
material.
3.
Elaboration
This
method is similar to the
PQ4R method. After studying
the material through PQ4R
method
then
elaborate it. Then try to
making diagrams and label
them according to the
materials. Then
you
can also make mental
maps. Mental maps help
the meaning clear. It also
tells us about the
links
between the materials. Then
students can use PQ4R
method. You can also try
and explain
it
to your little brother or
sister. During explaining
the material to your little
brother and sister
you
will
become clearer. You can also
explain the material to your
other friends of other
fields. Then
you
write a paragraph on how you
feel about the
material.
The
research reviewed indicates
that the elaborative
conception is more accurate.
Subjects
elaborate
the information they study
with the following:
1.
Connections to prior
knowledge
2.
Imaging's and inferences
about the material
3.
Features from the current
context
The
evidence indicates that this
process of elaboration leads to
improved memory in the
following
ways:
1.
It increases the redundancy of
interconnections among the-to be
remembered
information.
2.
It imposes an organization on the
information that can be used
to guide the
retrieval
process.
3.
It can increase the number
of contextual elements that
will overlap between study
and
test.
4
. Encoding variability
This
is a way in which context
influences memory. It is referred
encoding effects because
the
contexts
affecting what is encoded
into the memory trace
that records the event.
Learn the same
material
in different rooms. Try and
change places, positions and
contexts. Research
evidence
points
to need for variety of
situation.
5.
Spacing effect
Give
as much a gap you can
between reading and
re-reading. This does not
mean do not review
immediately.
First review material soon.
Then re-read material closer
to exam. Give as much
a
gap
you can between reading
and re-reading. This does
not mean do not review
immediately.
First
review material soon. Then,
re-read the material closer
to the exam.
The
spacing effect is an extremely
robust and powerful
phenomenon, and it has been
repeatedly
shown
with many kinds of material.
Spacing effects have been
demonstrated in free recall,
in
115
Cognitive
Psychology PSY 504
VU
cued
recall of paired associates, in
the recall of sentences, and
in the recall of text
material. It is
important
to note that these spacing
results do generalize to textbook
materials. Also the effect
of
spaced
study can be very
long-lasting.
Speed
Reading
Speed
Reading can help you
read fast. But material is
not retained well.
But
if you are trying to learn
new material you are
reading stories then it's
OK.But then again,
its
no
way to appreciate poetry or
literature. It is like that
you are drinking tea
very fast and
burn
your
tong. So it is not accurate. We
must avoid it.
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