Survival of the Studious

By Makayla Rosenbery

Survival value (also known as adaptive value and connection to survival processing) is understanding memory and how memory is used to survive which leads to survival processing that encodes items into our memory(1)! Survival value leads to enhanced memory by relating words to situations that others have not experienced (the apocalypse!!!) This works because when we relate words to our survival, we are linking to something meaningful that will stick in our minds(2). In cognitive psychology, survival value refers to the adaptive benefit of certain cognitive processes or behaviors that assist one’s survival. 

So… you may be wondering what on Earth does survival value have to do with learning?! I am here to tell you that survival value is connecting learning strategies to enhancements to our survival of academics. Studying and survival value go hand-in-hand in a variety of scenarios we face in the classroom and even in our day-to-day life! 

When it comes to applying this concept of survival value and survival processing to our studying habits and learning, we can see how it can benefit adaptability, problem-solving, and health education (3). Problem-solving and adaptability are skills that we need in the classroom and in our everyday life and survival value can aid in those skills. When we think about problem-solving, there is an aspect of survival within that and the same with adaptability. When survival value is implemented into our study habits, we can learn to overcome obstacles and make decisions that can be faced in any subject or in the world. First I want to focus on survival value in our education then there will be more discussion on the overall benefits that survival value holds. 

To use survival processing to enhance our study habits, we can relate material to personal survival situations/scenarios/challenges. An example of this would be while we study history, let’s think about a past civilization and try to imagine yourself there during that period and the challenges that were faced. Think about how those people needed to find ways to find food, water, shelter, or possible difficulties with other people around. Taking all of that into consideration, think about how you would face those challenges, think about how you would survive and by being able to picture yourself in a situation like that, we are applying knowledge we have learned in that subject to help answer the questions that are involved (5). 

Another example of how to apply this concept and use it to our advantage while studying would be in the situation of preparing for an exam. Exams are stressful and it feels like we have to remember all of this information simply by memorization and that can be a difficult task. However, we can approach this preparation by attempting to connect the information to aspects of survival. When survival is connected to survival, this can help with retrieval, “given retrieval’s crucial role in memory, the present study explored the usefulness of varying retrieval conditions to study survival processing… the richness-of-encoding hypothesis as a strong proximate explanation for the survival processing advantage,” (4). With all of this being done and applied, it is likely that the information will be encoded into our memory which will help when taking the exam. 

The application of survival value and survival processing into our study habits can lead to the improvement of retention and better understanding of concepts and the ability to apply our knowledge in situations (1). However, survival value can benefit us more than just in the classroom but in other aspects of our lives as well…

When we acquire knowledge and skills based on survival value, we are impacted positively through our well-being and our success. With the main ideas that are involved with this topic, there can be connections between this topic and skills that help us in our lives. Having knowledge and skills in the area of survival value we can see enhanced adaptability, improved decision making, physical and mental wellbeing, and social connection growth. These skills are built when practicing survival value due to the focus on survival and when you have the abilities to notice certain patterns that go along with the listed skills above we have the knowledge to help guide us through challenges. 

Next time you are trying to study, try to make connections with scenarios that involve some sort of survival in life. Survival value is wiring our brains to prioritize and retain this information due to the importance and need to survive and keep our well-being sustained. With incorporating this technique into learning, we can enhance, retain, and recall a large amount of information when material is studied to focus on survival and real-life scenarios and this makes the information more important and can become encoded into our memory. Survival value techniques can save your grades and your life! Seems like a great technique for everyone to add to their survival kit!

References

1. Nairne, J. S., Thompson, S. R., & Pandeirada, J. N. (2007). Adaptive memory: Survival processing enhances retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(2), 263–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.33.2.263  
2. Nairne, J. S., Vanarsdall, J. E., Pandeirada, J. N., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Adaptive memory: Enhanced location memory after survival processing. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e520602012-519  
3. Kazanas, S. A., & Altarriba, J. (2015). The survival advantage: Underlying mechanisms and extant limitations. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(2), 360–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491501300204  
4. Alban, M. W., & Annibal, S. C. (2022). Varying retrieval conditions to study survival processing. Memory, 30(9), 1087–1102. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2022.2080226  
5. Meyers, Z. R., McCurdy, M. P., Leach, R. C., Thomas, A. K., & Leshikar, E. D. (2020). Effects of Survival Processing on Item and Context Memory: Enhanced Memory for Survival-Relevant Details. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 2244. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02244