Starting_with_Psychology

Naomi Course Reference - Y163 10F Assignment number - TMA01 In this essay we will look at how Mental image, Concept and Schemas help to improve our memory. We will look at each individually showing what is meant by a mental image, concept and schema, how each improves our memory and will show evidence to support this. Firstly we will look at Mental Image. Mental image is when we make a visual record in our minds of an item, a person an idea or a situation. We have a visual record for every bit of knowledge we know, we may have better mental images for experiences or things that we have enjoyed oppose to things we haven’t. The more effort we put into forming our mental image will make it easier for later recall. There are a number of techniques using mental image for memory recall mnemonics being one. A type on mnemonics is called the ‘method of loci’ and was developed by Poet Simonides. Poet Simonides believed that the method of loci would help us recall information easier by linking items we know with a sequence of locations we already know. Another technique is the keyword technique developed by Michael Raugh and Richard Atkinson (1975). This technique has proven successful when learning a new language or even a native language. It works by taking the unknown word and linking it to a familiar word. For example celerity meaning speed; the keyword could then be celery you could then visualise a piece of celery flying around at top speed this would then be the mental cue you need to remember the word and its meaning.(http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/282.php). Raugh and Atkinson carried out an experiment on two groups of participants. Both groups were asked to learn 60 Spanish words, only one group had been taught the keyword technique. When later tested the group which had learnt the keyword technique scored an average of 88% compared to the group who had not learnt the keyword technique who scored an average of 28%. This experiment shows that the keyword technique is successful. By concentrating on forming mental images we are able to recall information with ease. The mental image acts as a cue for us to remember what we need to. Secondly we will look at concepts. Another way we organise our thoughts is to put them into categories the way we form these categories is known as concept formation. We have many different categories for example fruit, animals, fish, birds the list is endless. Each concept is classified by a set of defining features. Let’s look at birds. The defining features would be the wings, beaks and flight however penguins do not have flight but they are still classified as a bird, this shows that the rule isn’t applied rigidly but is a generalisation. Research carried out by George Mandler (1967) suggests that by organising information we can learn it without having to memorise it. Mandler (1967) carried out an experiment on two groups of participants. Both groups were given 100 cards with words printed on them. Both groups were asked to sort the cards into groups, only one group were asked to memorise the words and sort the cards. The other group just had to sort the cards. When both groups were later tested they were asked to write down all of the items that they remembered. Both groups recalled the same amount of words. This proves Mandler's (1976) theory that we do not have to memorise information to remember it. By organising our thoughts and putting information we receive into categories this acts as the relevant cue we need to recall the information. Finally we will look at Schemas. Schemas are our mental framework. They provide us with the knowledge of the world around us. We have schemas about everything, people, objects, situations. Schemas help us to interpret and organise information based on previous experiences. When we go through an experience involving an object, situation or people we take that knowledge from the experience and file it away. For example we will have all had an experience at some point of our life involving a hospital. The image we have from that experience like the smell, the staff, and patients and so on will then give us our schema. Schemas can work for us when taking in vast amounts of information they act as a shortcut, however they can also mislead us. William Brewer (1981) carried out an experiment to show the distorting effects of schemas on the memory. Participants were shown into an office for 35 seconds; they were then taken to another room and were asked to complete an unexpected memory test. Most of the items that were in the office were compatible with an office schema but there were a few extra items that would not be compatible with an office schema such as a brick and a set of pliers. The participants had a much better recall of items that would be compatible with an office schema than the items that were not. Participants also recalled items that were not in the office such as a telephone which would normally be found in an office. You can see that by organising our experiences and previous knowledge schemas can act as a cue to recall information for future understanding. We can also see from Brewers (1981) experiment that schemas can sometimes distort our memory recall. In conclusion it is fair to say that memory image, concept formation and schemas all play their individual role in helping us organise our thoughts and improve our memory. All three provide mental cues to help us remember information that we need to. By constructing an image in our minds mental image acts as the cue we need to recall information, concepts formation allows us to organise our thoughts by creating categories providing us with cues to recall information and improve our memory and finally schemas are created and filed away for us to recall at a later date for future understanding thus improving our memory and organising our thoughts.