(6) 2.4b Encoding Memories

Prospective Memory

Things you need to remember to do.

Hierarchy

Putting information into categories and subcategories.

Massed Practice

Cramming the night before.

Spaced Effect (distributed practice)

Spaced out study or practice for better long-term retention.

Testing Effect (Retrieval Practice)

Testing effect enhances memory.

Ex:

• A student is preparing for a unit on memory. They have three options:

  • Read the chapter a second time.

  • Study their notes and flashcards.

  • Take a practice quiz on the material.

• Testing effect principle:

  The student who takes the practice quiz will have better long-term retention of the material than the student who just rereads the chapter.

Self-reference Effect

Apply a situation to yourself → more likely to remember it.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Making connections between new information and what you already know, helping to store in long term.

Ex:

• Scenario: You are trying to remember the names of different types of rocks.

• Maintenance Rehearsal: You repeat "Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic" over and over.

• Elaborative Rehearsal: You create connections, such as:

  • "I Guess New Everyday Objects Understand Strange rocks" (an acronym).

  • Igneous rocks are like something that was once fiery (volcanoes).

  • Sedimentary rocks are formed from sediment that settles at the bottom of a lake, like layers of sand at the bottom of an ocean.

  • Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have undergone a change or "metamorphosis" under heat and pressure. 

Levels of Processing

Refers to shallow processing (based on look or sound) and deep processing (encoding semantically).

Semantic Encoding

Remembering something by its meaning.