People’s Minds Form Memories in a Variety of Ways

A new study led by Professor Robert Logie (Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences) reviewed more than 100 previous research studies with adults that investigated the different ways in which people remember words, letters, numbers and pictures and how people order information and use mental imagery to create mental representations of things. 

Researchers also looked at how memory changes as people get older and the influence of intelligence on memory.

The team found people memorise things in a variety of ways, for instance, when trying to learn and remember words in a new language some people remember by repeating the word, others might try to think about whether it sounds like a word they already know, and others might visualise what the word looks like and what it means. 

Researchers also found that placing things in order – a technique used when remembering pin numbers or combination locks – could be achieved in several ways, such as creating a memory chain by associating the first number with the second and so on, or learned representation – where each number is remembered separately.

This research highlights a range of mental processes linked to memory, which are used in different ways to perform similar tasks, which could be used to help people recall information more readily. 

The study is published in the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 

Professor Robert Logie said “Examining memory in a wider context – rather than its performance in particular tasks – could eventually offer a way to help people to use the memory tools they have more effectively, and help them maintain their memory abilities as they get older.”