Memory Games

Can We Improve Memory?

Common Cents
Only one of the images of a penny on the following slide is correct. Which one is it?

Whats Going On?

If you chose the first penny, you were correct! Most people have a hard time making this choice. You need to be able to recognize a penny when you see one. You don't need to remember many details to distinguish a penny from a dime or quarter. We're likely to remember only enough about an object to recognize it in everyday life.

What About Faces?

How do we remember a face? The upper part of the face seems to be more important for recognition than the lower part. The hair is the most important factor, followed by the eyes, then the nose, and then to a lesser extent, the mouth and chin. If you're going to rob a bank, wear a wig, and don't bother with the fake beard!

Impersonating Elvis
The following pictures are famous people. Each is shown with "The King's" hair. Does the hair make it more difficult to recognize them? Write down your guess for each figure.

2.

1. 3.

Whats Wrong With This Picture?

Hair Matters Most!

The members of this track team all have the same face. Unless we are paying close attention to facial features, hair plays a big part in forming an image of individuals.

Thanks for the Memories

I will slowly read a list of words out loud. Take three minutes to write down all the words you remember.

Now Compare
sour chocolate nice pie candy honey sugar soda bitter good heart taste cake tooth tart

Lets Try it Again

mad wrath fear happy hate fight rage hatred temper mean fury calm ire emotion enrage

Whats Going On?

Most people falsely remember the word sweet on the first list and the word angry on the second list. The words aren't there, but they are strongly suggested by the words that are on the list. Memory is associative Thinking about one thing gets you thinking related thoughts.

Activity One
On the next slide, there are pictures of 20 different things. Set a timer for two minutes then proceed to the next slide. Look at the pictures for two minutes. After two minutes advance to the next slide.

Instructions
Now write down as many of the things as you can remember on your piece of paper. After you've written down as many things as you can remember, move to the next slide to check your list.

How many of the 20 things did you remember?

Does Practice Make Perfect?

In 1927, a scientist tested 187 university students on their ability to memorize poetry, the meaning of Turkish words, dates of historical events, etc.
Some students practiced memorizing things. Others learned techniques for remembering things. The rest did nothing at all related to memory.

The Results
The group that had learned techniques for memorizing things did much better on the test than the others. The students who had practiced memorizing things and the students who had done nothing at all did about the same on the test as they did before.

Why is This So?

Repeating the words over and over uses working memory
This works for some things like short term recall of a phone number You wont remember something this way 5 minutes later

You don't improve memory just by repeating something over and over. Working memory holds a small amount of information for a short time

So What Does Work?

Elaborative encoding Elaborative encoding connects new information to existing memories
This helps you remember the new information.

It helps move the information out of working memory and into longterm memory.

Lets Try It Again!

As you did before, look at the pictures on the following slide for two minutes After 2 minutes move to the next slide and write down as many of the things as you can remember. This time, while you are looking at the pictures, make up a story that has all of the items in it. Try to imagine the story as you tell it to yourself, picturing each item. Here we Go!

More Instructions
Now write down as many of the things as you can remember on your piece of paper. After you've written down as many things as you can remember, move to the next slide to check your list.

How many did you remember this time?

Whats Going On?

You are connecting the different pictures so that when you remember one, you remember the others too.
It's easier to remember when one item is attached to others. You are making a mental picture that includes all the different items. Making a mental picture helps you remember.

Making up a story may not help you remember all of the objects, but it helps you remember some of the objects a lot longer. When you made a mental picture of the objects, you used your long-term memory.

Lets Try One More Time

This experiment is a bit harder. On the next slide, there are pictures of 10 different objects. Think of 10 different places where you could put something. Choose any 10 places you like, but make sure that you can walk from one to the next easily and in the same order every time. Imagine yourself walking from one place to another, looking at each one. Make sure that you can remember all 10 places.

More Instructions
Move to the next slide and look at the pictures for two minutes. When you look at the pictures, imagine each object in one of the places you selected. The sillier the picture you imagine, the more likely you are to remember it. Do the same thing for every other item on the list. Imagine yourself walking from one place to another and seeing the things you've imagined. Now try it.

What Can You Remember?

Now write down as many of the things as you can remember on your piece of paper. How did you do this time?

Did you remember all 10?

Why it Works
This trick helps you remember for the same reasons that telling yourself a story helped you remember. You are connecting these different things and picturing them in your mind. You are also giving yourself a hint that helps you pull out the memory. You can apply these techniques to other things you want to remember.