Describe_How_the_Use_of_Mental_Images,_Concepts_and_Schemas_Can_Help_Us_Organise_Our_Thinking_and_Help_Us_Improve_Our_Memory

Much thought has gone into studying the way we think in terms of finding out how people absorb and process information. In the following I will discuss how the use of mental images, concepts and schemas can help us organise our thinking and in particular how these ideas can help us improve our memory. First to cosider is the role of mental images. A mental image is a mental representation or picture or information in psychology often referred to as an iconic thought. Mental images can play an important part when trying to learn a new language. Spoors et all (2011) give an example of learning the french word 'Poubelle' which translates as bin in English. By creating an English key word that at least partly sounds like the french word (Bell) and then creating a mental image for this keyword (eg a bell being used as a bin and which has an unpleasant smell) it becomes a lot easier to recall this word as the mental image provides a hint when we try to remember this information. An experiment carried out by Rough and Atkinson (1975) also supports the idea that the use of mental images improve recall. Two groups of students were given a list of words to learn in Spanish. The only difference being that one group was instructed to use the key words and mental images (independant variable). As a result of this this group managed to recall a lot more words than the other group that had not used the mental images to remember the words. Further evidence suggesting mental images improve recall can be seen in Mnemonic devices. Mnemonics are well known strategies to improve memory. One of these devices, called Method of loci, was invented in ancient Greece. It is based on the idea of connecting mental images of the items one is trying to remember to a sequence of locations one already knows. Spoors et all (2011) give the example of easily being able to remember a shopping list by creating mental images of the items one is trying to remember and then connecting them to well known rooms in a house. By forming these mental imgages we give ourselves a cue when trying to recall the information. The research by Rough and Atkinson and examples provided by Spoors et all (2011) clearly demonstrate how forming mental imgages can help us improve our recall. Second to consider would be the role of concepts. As stated by Spoors et all (2011) a concept is a mental representation of a group of objects or events that share similar properties. It is a way of putting things into groups.For example you might have a concept of a dog as having four legs a tail and a furry coat. Concepts again can be devided into sub concepts' such as 'labrador' or 'spaniel'. Spoors et all (2011) point out that concepts are not always clearly defined but seem to depend on what we expect to do with them rather than how we define them. They state that most peoples concept of a table would involve having four legs and a flat surface when in fact a lot of things could be used as a table. Numerous experiments have been carried out to support the idea that forming concepts help us improve our memory. In an experiment carried out by Boustfield participants were asked to learn a list of words which could be devided into different categories. By putting the items from the list into categories such as 'furniture' or 'clothes' participants found it easier to recall the words. Knowledge of the categories even helped them remember words they had previously when just trying to remember a list of random words had not been able to recall. In another experiment conducted by George Mandler participants were asked to sort cards that had words written on them into categories. The participants were split into two groups, one half had to categorise the cards and memorise the words on the cards while the other half were merely required to categorise the cards. When later testet both groups were able to recall the same amount of word. Both experiments show that organising information grouped with related items help us remember them more easily as each bit of information cues the next bit. Finally to consider is the role of schemas. According to Spoors et all (2011) a schema can be understood as a mental framework which contains an individuals knowledge of certain objects, situations, groups of people and even an individuals knowledge of himself. Jean Piaget, a swiss psychologist, was particulary interested in investigating how children form schemas when developing cognitive skills. Spoors et all (2011) suggest imagining our memory as a huge filing cabinet and picturing each file as a schema. If you for example opened the file 'going to the dentist' it would contain all your knowledge about visits to the dentist (e.g. waiting room, dentist chair, white overall, dentist tools etc.) One would just need to access the 'going to the dentist' file for assistance as how to behave in that situation. Schemas will differ depending on the individuals knowledge of a subject. For example someone with a lot of motor racing knowldege will have a lot more information stored about the Formula One World Championship than someone who just associates it with cars going round in a circle. John Bransford and Marcia Johnson conducted an experiment in 1972 to demonstrate how schemas can help improve our memory.They asked participants to remember a passage that was read out to them. However only half of the participants were given the passage with a title. The title contained a schema. Knowing the schema made it a lot easier for the participants to recall the passage. This demonstrates how schemas help us store the information appropriately and thereby provide cues to prompt our memory when trying to recall information. In conclusion using mental images, concepts and schemas help us organise our thinking and can improve our memory. Mental images give us pictures of things. These pictures provide a cue when trying to recall the information. Concepts enable us to put things into ordered groups. By organising information grouped with related items it becomes a lot easier to remember things as each bit of information cues the next bit and schemas allow us to store information in an overall framework. Storing the information appropriately helps prompt our memory when trying to remember the information. Reference: Spoors, P., Dyer E., Finlay, L., Marsh, G. (2011) Starting with Psychology, Milton Keynes the open University