Mnemonic Aids and Memory Games

From cognitive psychology perspective, these slides investigate some internal mnemonic aids to improve memory, if cognitive enhancement games work or not, and propose some study skills to improve learning.

Transcript

1. Mnemonic Aids and Memory Games Morteza Ansarinia Institute for Cognitive Science Studies March 2, 2016
2. 2 ▸ Mnemonic Aids ▸ Method of Loci, ▸ Pegword system, ▸ Visual imagery to remember names, ▸ Verbal mnemonics. ▸ Why mnemonics work. ▸ Cognitive enhancement games & criticisms. ▸ Study skills. ▸ Exercise, motivation, emotion, and flashbulb memory. ▸ Memory experts. Outline
3. 3 ▸ The processing of difference in the context of similarity (Hunt, 2013). ▸ Long-term memory is much better for words and images processed distinctively than those processed non- distinctively. (von Restorff, 1933; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1980). ▸ Names are more likely to be recognized or recalled when paired with a distinctive rather than a typical face (Watier & Collins, 2013). ▸ What is Everyday Life? Trying to achieve multiple goals at the same time, while surrounded by distractions. Distinctive Processing
4. Harris, J. E. (1980). Memory aids people - 2 interview studies. Memory and Cognition, 8, 31-38. 4 ▸ Strategies for encoding information with the sole purpose of making it more memorable. ▸ External vs. Internal mnemonics (Harris, 1980). We only use few internal mnemonics, but they are useful when external ones are not allowed (e.g. examination). ▸ Memory trainings are focused on internal aids. Mnemonics
6. McCabe, J. A. (2015). Location, location, location! Demonstrating the mnemonic benefit of the method of loci. Teaching of Psychology. 6 ▸ Simonides, as written by Cicero. ▸ Look at appropriate location in your mind’s eye and mentally recall. ▸ More appropriate for concrete words such as names of objects, rather than abstract words such as truth, hope, and patriotism. ▸ Kondo et al. (2004) showed memory enhancement by method of loci. Right inferior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus had more activities during learning, elaborative encoding, and variegated when used. Method of Loci
9. Qureshi, A., et al. (2014). The method of loci as a mnemonic device to facilitate learning in endocrinology leads to improvement in student performance as measured by assessments. Advances in physiology education, 38(2), 140-144. 9 ▸ 90% of World Memory Championships reported using loci on some or all memory tasks (Wilding & Valentine, 1994). Method of Loci
10. McCabe, J. A. (2015). Location, location, location! Demonstrating the mnemonic benefit of the method of loci. Teaching of Psychology. 10 ▸ Interferes with spatial tasks and must be prevented while driving or skiing! ▸ Recall without sequence is hard. ▸ It does not help in real world (De Beni et al., 1997). ▸ It works for lectures, but not written words. Presumably visual written texts interfere. However De Beni’s work was not real world either (2000 words). Method of Loci - Limitations
11. 11 ▸ Uses rhymes to associate an word to a number. ▸ Bun, Show, Tree, Door, Hive, Sticks, Heaven, Gate, Wine, Hen. ▸ Twice as many words were recalled when the technique was used compared to when it was not. ▸ Unlike loci, it uses numbers, rather than locations to bridge the gap between numbers and images by means of a rhyme. ▸ Henry Herdson Method: Visual images for each number (tower/candle for one, two by swan, three by trident,…). Pegword Method
12. 12 ▸ They let us make use of our knowledge. ▸ Kalakosi and Saariluma (2001) asked Helsinki taxi drivers to recall 15 street names (A route, same route but in random order, and streets spread over all regions). Students and taxi drivers were equally scored when asked to recall streets spread over Helsinki. ▸ Requirements to achieve very high memory skills (Ericsson, 1988): ▸ Meaningful encoding: Relate new chunks to pre-existing knowledge (Encoding Principle), ▸ Retrieval structure: Cues should be stored with information to aid subsequent retrieval (Retrieval Structure Principle). ▸ Speedup: Extensive practices to make encoding and retrieval process faster (Speedup Principle). ▸ However, outstanding digit or task-specific memory do not usually generalize to other memory tasks. Why Mnemonics Work
13. Kueider, A. M., Parisi, J. M., Gross, A. L., & Rebok, G. W. (2012). Computerized cognitive training with older adults: a systematic review. PloS one, 7(7), e40588. 13 ▸ Lumosity: describes itself as “a leader in the science of brain training”. Specifically designed to boost brain power. ▸ BrainHQ by Posit Science: “The widely acknowledged leader in proven scientific research.” Exercised are grouped into six categories: Attention, Memory, Brain Speed, Intelligence, People Skills, and Navigation. They removed “BrainHQ's Scientific Design Principles” article. ▸ Fit Brains: “Fit Brains helps you train crucial brain skills such as memory, concentration, problem-solving, processing speed, language, and visual-spatial recognition.” ▸ Cogmed, Dakim, Clevermind, CogniFit, Brain Trainer, Brain Metrix, Eidetic, … Digital Brain Training Games
14. Brain Training Apps 14 Eidetic
15. Ritchie, S. J., Chudler, E. H., & Della Sala, S. (2012). Don’t try this at school: the attraction of ‘alternative’ educational techniques. Neuroscience in Education, 244-264. 15 ▸ Ferrous fallacy: Claiming a technique, intervention or treatment will work based not on evidence, but on analogy to related effects in a different context. ▸ Franz Mesmer: animal magnetism, first blinded experiment, and placebo effect (due to the expectations of the patient). ▸ Brain Gym®: They cite no scientific evidence for any of their claims; indeed, the evidence appears to be non- existent. Ritchie et al. (2012)
16. “We object to the claim that brain games offer consumers a scientifically grounded avenue to reduce or reverse cognitive decline when there is no compelling scientific evidence to date that they do.” A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community 16 Allaire, J. C., Bäckman, L., Balota, D. A., Bavelier, D., Bjork, R. A., & Bower, G. H. (2014). A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community. Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Stanford Center on Longevity.
17. “The promise of a magic bullet detracts from the best evidence to date, which is that cognitive health in old age reflects the long- term effects of healthy, engaged lifestyles. In the judgment of the signatories, exaggerated and misleading claims exploit the anxiety of older adults about impending cognitive decline.” A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community 17 Allaire, J. C., Bäckman, L., Balota, D. A., Bavelier, D., Bjork, R. A., & Bower, G. H. (2014). A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community. Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Stanford Center on Longevity.
18. “the games may be fun – just don't expect them to be effective.” Adrian Owen, Neuroscientist 18 Allaire, J. C., Bäckman, L., Balota, D. A., Bavelier, D., Bjork, R. A., & Bower, G. H. (2014). A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community. Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Stanford Center on Longevity.
19. D. Schacter (1996). Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind and the Past. New York: Basic Books. 19 ▸ Detailed and vivid memory stored on one occasion. ▸ Retained for a lifetime. ▸ Usually associated with important historical and autobiographical events. ▸ Examples: ▸ People recall in elaborate detail when and how they heard the news of assassination of Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 60s, spaceship Challenger explosion, 9/11. ▸ Death of a family member, and unusual personal trauma. Flashbulb Memory
20. 20 ▸ Not accurate in every respect. ▸ Shows emotional content of an event can greatly enhance the strength of the memory formed. ▸ Thought to require participation of Amygdala for emotional memory, and possibly other brain parts which regulate mood and alertness. Flashbulb Memory D. Schacter (1996). Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind and the Past. New York: Basic Books.
22. ▸ Pomodoro Technique, mindmap, and highlighting. ▸ Learning Styles (Biggs, 1987): Surface, Deep, Strategic. ▸ Implementation Intentions. ▸ SQ3R: Five stages of Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. ▸ To avoid student illusion. Study Skills 22 Biggs, J. B. (1987). The Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ): Manual. Hawthorne, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research.
25. ▸ Shereshevski: Russian memory expert, relied on imagery, and studied by A. R. Luria. ▸ Problems: cough, complex images for simple words. ▸ He finally used a blackboard to remove all his memories. ▸ Synesthesia: Capacity for a stimulus in one sense to evoke an image in another sense. Mnemonists 25
26. ▸ Rajan ▸ Dominic O’Brian ▸ Akira Haraguchi ▸ Gregor von Feinaigle Mnemonists 26 Ericsson, K. A. (2003). Exceptional memorizers: Made, not born. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 233-235.
27. ▸ Natural experts vs. strategists (Wilding & Valentine, 1994). ▸ Strategic question: Recall names associated to faces. ▸ Natural question: Recognize snow crystals. ▸ Naturals performed best on both kinds of memory tasks. ▸ Strategists performed best on strategic tasks. ▸ Strategists performed much better than naturals on strategic tasks. ▸ Exceptional memory is made, rather than born (Ericsson, 2003). ▸ Exceptional autobiographical memory (known as highly superior autobiographical memory: HSAM) Mnemonists 27 Ericsson, K. A. (2003). Exceptional memorizers: Made, not born. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 233-235.
28. 28 :-) Thank You