(5) 2.4 Encoding Memories

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

Mnemonics

Memory aids that often use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic technique involving imagining oneself placing information around a room and later retrieving it.

Link Method

A mnemonic technique that involves turning information into vivid images and linking those images together.

To remember a list of items for an AP Psychology exam, such as the words apple, giraffe, and book, you can use the link method to create a story:

• Step 1: Take the first item, "apple." Imagine a giant, red apple.

• Step 2: Link it to the second item, "giraffe." Now imagine a very tall giraffe trying to eat the giant apple, with its long neck bending down precariously.

• Step 3: Link the giraffe to the final item, "book." The giraffe accidentally knocks a book off a shelf while trying to reach the apple. It lands with a thud right next to the apple.

• Step 4: When you need to recall the list, you can walk through your vivid mental story: The (apple), the tall (giraffe) eating it, and the (book) falling over. 

Peg Words Method

A mnemonic technique where an item is associated in imagination with a number-word pair.

Ex:

• Let's say you need to remember a list of ingredients for a recipe in order: beef, tomatoes, beans, onions, and chili powder. 

1. Pre-memorize your peg words:

   • 1 = sun

   • 2 = shoe

   • 3 = tree

   • 4 = door

   • 5 = hive

Visualize each item with its peg word:

• Beef: Imagine a cow wearing sunglasses on the sun (1 = sun).

• Tomatoes: Picture stomping on a pile of tomatoes with a large shoe (2 = shoe).

• Beans: Envision a tree covered in beans.

• Onions: Picture a giant onion knocking on a door.