What_Is_Psychlogy_Tmao1

How can the way in which we organise our thinking by using mental images, concepts and schemas help us improve memory' The ways in which information is organised when stored has an effect on memory retention and retrieval. Individuals must organise their thinking by effectively using mental images, forming concepts and developing schemas for retrieval to be at its best. The following shall explore these three theories as well as describe how they could improve memory. Iconic thought is thinking using mental images and it is iconic thought that can help improve memory. This is evident in Raugh and Richardson (1975) key word technique experiment which involved associating key vocabulary with mental images. One experimental group had to learn sixty Spanish words after learning the key word technique and the control group did the same without the knowledge of the key word technique. The experimental group scored an average of 60% higher than the control group. This experiment clearly shows a correlational relationship between the using mental images and retrieval. There are several explanations for this. Firstly, information is recalled by using memory cues associated with the target. By forming mental images individuals create additional cues hence, raise the probability of reaching the target memory. Also the more attention paid to information the better it is stored. By forming mental images individuals pay the information more attention than if they were not using mental images therefore, information is stored more effectively. Also forming large, colourful and distinctive images aids retrieval. Mnemonics is a system used for improving retrieval based on the use of mental images. A common verbal mnemonic used is Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain which, represents the first letters of the spectrum of light. In this example a sentence is easier to remember than an ordered list and therefore, increases the chance of memory recall. Categorising objects and events is another way in which individuals organise their thoughts. This is named concept formation and we define a concept by distinguishing a set of defining features. For example, fly, wings and feathers are the basic defining features of a bird and those features enable individuals to categorise a bird as a bird. The concept is fuzzy rather than clearly defined. A penguin does not have feathers and cannot fly, yet is still a bird. Using events or objects which are similar to a concept but do not belong to the concept is known as overgeneralisation. This is commonly seen in children who are developing their concepts. For example they may call everything in the sky a bird as they know that birds fly. Concept formation has been proven to enhance recall as seen by Weston Bousfield (1953). Participants were asked to learn sixty words that were in four categories. Even though the list was put forward in random order, the participants remembered the list by the groups which they belonged to. So if fruit was a group and apple was recalled then other fruits followed. This experiment shows that more words can be recalled of categories are given. The category acts as a cue for a word under that category which again acts as a cue for the next piece of information and so on. This is because the information is organised and structured. George Mandler (1967) carried out an experiment with two groups. Using one hundred word cards one group was asked to memorise the cards and another was asked to sort the cards into groups. The groups were tested and both groups recalled the same amount of words. This not only reinforces the earlier point that categorisinng information enhances memory recall but also suggests that learning takes place even when there is no effort to be made. Schemas are similar to concept formation but schemas are not grouped or categorised, they are associates of an object or event. A schema is a mental framework of objects, people, yourself and events linked by association and defined by experience. For example,a schema for bird is sky, tree, wings, beak, canary, tweeting, nest etc. The list just touches the associations of bird. The idea of schemas was first thought of by psychologist Jean Piaget, who studied how children developed their thinking. He put forward that memory is full of schemas that grow and develop through experience. Each schema has information associated with an object or event. The information is a result of an individual’s experience. Therefore, an individual can refer back to their schema to deal with the world around them. However, if a new experience occurs a new schema is created. Perception of experience defers from one person to another which, results in schemas deferring. For example, a person who likes music will have lots of positive information whereas, a person who doesn’t like music has less, negative information. Schemas aid recall by appropriately storing information within an organised framework to provide cues to prompt memory. John Bransford and Mercia Johnson (1972) invcestigated the role of schemas and conducted an experiment with two groups. Both groups were asked to read a passage but one group was not given the title. Those without the title not only couldn’t recall information but many couldn’t understand the passage. The group with the title fully understood the passage and could recall the information as the title was used as a schema so information was appropriately stored resulting in easier recall. Individuals store memories in three basic ways; mental images, concept formation and schemas. These methods for storing information create additional cues, which raise the probability of reaching the target memory. More attention is paid to the information causing it to be stored more effectively. Information is organised and stored methodically, which makes access those memories easier as well as act as a cue for similar information. Organised frameworks allow individuals to recall information in situations in order to form opinions and responses.