The Imagination of Elaboration

By Katelynn Tripp

When in the process of studying, it may feel common for you to try different strategies for obtaining the information. When we use our current knowledge and try to connect the dots on certain topics, this can be seen as elaboration. Elaboration is a core technique when learning new information because it allows us to retract previous learned knowledge, and use it to our advantage when trying to learn new information. This technique can be used in any subject, as we all have some knowledge on random things in this life. Without the skill of elaboration, I feel people would struggle with learning information. Even though this technique doesn’t determine our capabilities of learning, it does improve the likelihood of us obtaining that information. In this report, I will be explaining what the meaning of elaboration is, and some of the key techniques that go into this topic as well. 

Elaboration has many different definitions, but they all have the same central idea. Elaboration is the cognitive learning process of linking information together to enhance the connection between new information and knowledge (3). This can be executed by developing ideas incorporating new details that can increase the chance of remembering new information. A process such as this requires the process of thinking and scrutinizing generating interferences (4). That being said, I feel that imagination plays an important role in elaboration. When we learn new things, sometimes it doesn’t always stick, so we must try to use our imagination to connect information to other things so it can be obtained. Looking into imagination, it is our skill to create something out of nothing, and the level of these ideas are based on our own excellence (6). To explain this a little deeper, when using imagination, we must start at a baseline level which could look different for everyone, and then must create a new idea. By baseline level, I mean that everyone has different backgrounds when it comes to already obtained knowledge. With all of this being said, elaborating is a technique used to connect ideas to other ideas to improve our understanding when learning new information. 

Elaboration can look different for everyone, as we all come up with different ideas. It can be used in any circumstance, like learning a new language, learning math equations, and remembering where things are. An example of elaboration would be if you were trying to remember where the Atlantic ocean is. Thinking of the first letter of the ocean, it touches the Americas, and Africa, so by connecting those things can confirm someone’s knowledge on where the ocean lays. This kind of connection can be seen as elaborative rehearsal, as you are making analogies and using mnemonic devices. Mnemonic devices are said to be memory strategies to connect past learned information with the new. If you knew what the continents were, it would then make it easier for you to elaborate where the ocean is (1). Strategy plays an important role when elaborating as you must decide what is the best way to connect the information together. You may go through multiple choices to use as a memory tool, but finding the best one is important so the information stays obtained. 

Over the years, many studies have been done to try and elaborate on elaboration. Diving into elaboration to see what helps with executing has led people to believe that imagery enhances the chances of recalling information. Being able to create a mental image about something will help improve the likelihood of someone being able to remember the information. This activity is classified as elaborative imagery (5). Another topic that has been looked into is the theory of elaboration. This theory is when you use previous knowledge to build new ideas off of (2). This theory really explains the concept of elaboration, as we use things we have already learned previously to improve our understanding of the new information. 

Elaboration to my knowledge has been viewed as an important tactic when obtaining new knowledge. Without this technique, it would be harder for us to remember information. Many things go into elaboration, as noted previously, but without everything involved in elaboration, it would not be able to succeed the same way. I know for myself I definitely have used this technique, especially when I was learning Spanish, it was easier to connect those words to already known things so when the topic was brought up I instantly knew how to answer. I’m sure all of us have used this technique, but not known it. After doing this research, I would advise everyone to try and relate past knowledge to new information because it will most definitely be harder to forget that said information. Learning can be a struggle for anyone at any time, but if we have certain strategies to go about it, we as humans will be able to obtain more knowledge, and be able to recall that information at any time.

References:

(1) Elaboration strategies explained with examples. Viquepedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://www.viquepedia.com/psyche/elaboration

(2) Fisher, G. (n.d.). Using theory elaboration to make theoretical advancements. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1094428116689707?journalCode=orma

(3) Hamilton, R. (1970, January 1). Elaboration effects on learning. SpringerLink. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_170#:~:text=Elaboration%20is%20a%20cognitive%20learning,experience%20or%20contiguously%20presented%20information.

(4) N., S., & Name. (2015, June 23). What is elaboration? definition of elaboration (psychology dictionary). Psychology Dictionary. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://psychologydictionary.org/elaboration/

(5) Pressley, M. (n.d.). Elaboration and memory development. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1128972

(6) Sartre, J.-P. (n.d.). The imagination. Google Books. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yKy1cSTT81QC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=imagination&ots=zLEkf4Ycu1&sig=AJpZWMrvrGdZ1GlSBBSQE7RO_n4#v=onepage&q=imagination&f=false