Psych U3 AOS2 Dot point 7

Mnemonics

Mnemonic

Any technique used to assist memory, its encoding, storage and retrieval.

Acronym

pronounceable words formed from the first letters of a group of words. The acronym doesn’t have to be a real word but it’s usually pronounceable. 

The letters of the acronym act as retrieval cues to prompt recall of the associated information.

Acronyms are formed using a type of ‘chunking’ or grouping procedure.

Eg: ANZAC, PIN, FOMO, WHO, BODMAS, ROY G. BIV, etc

Acronym (intialism)

 are pronounced by saying each letter of the word individually. Eg: VIP, ATM, LOL, OMG. An acronym can sometimes be used as a blanket term that includes initialisms though.

Acrostic

An acrostic uses the same concept as the acronym except that instead of forming a new word, it generates a sentence that helps you remember the information.

Acrostics involve making verbal associations for items to be remembered by constructing sentences (or phrases) using the first letters of the information to be remembered.

The first letter of each word in the sentence then acts as a retrieval cue, which assists recall of the relevant information.

Acrostics can be useful when you have to remember information in sequential order.

Eg: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit, Never Eat Soggy Weetbix

Method of loci

Also known as the memory palace or mind palace, the method of loci is a mnemonic device for which the items to be remembered are converted into mental images and associated with specific positions or locations.

Eg: to remember a shopping list, each product could be imagined at a different location along a familiar street or to remember key talking points for a speech, each point could be associated with a different part of your house.

The method of loci is particularly useful when you want to remember a list of items in a particular order. 

Songlines

Songlines are used as mnemonics to memorise and communicate the information. They involve the pairing of place and information, like the method of loci, but are deeply tied to the landscape and much more elaborate.

A songline, sometimes called a dreaming track, is a navigational route comprising a sequence of locations. 

The locations often include significant landscape features that incorporate vital information. In addition, at each location, a story, song, dance or ceremony is performed that is associated with that particular location.

Encoding, storage and retrieval of knowledge communicated at different locations are enhanced through stories with vivid characters.