Have you ever studied really hard for a test, but when you sit down to take it, your mind just blanks out and you notice that you’re not as confident as you were while studying? That’s happened to me more than once. I’d study in my dorm, feel super confident, and then get to the classroom and suddenly forget everything. I used to think it was just nerves or stress, but it turns out there’s actually a reason this happens, and it’s called the encoding specificity principle. It may sound scary at first but it’s actually pretty cool once you understand it.
Have you ever wondered why you might have studied hard for an upcoming history exam, making sure you focus on the dates, people involved, and what countries might be involved within a war, just to completely blank and forget all of the details about what you studied when the exam is given out? This is especially frustrating when you know you put in the effort to do well on the test. Let me tell you, in college this especially gets hard when you have to balance so many different things on a daily basis.
Well Did you happen to also study for that spanish test that you have the next period after? As it turns out, the material from studying for that spanish test wound up interfering with your ability to accurately remember what you studied for the history exam.
This post will dive deeper into interference theory, specifically retroactive and proactive interference. So that when you are about to go on to your first semester of college, you can know how to avoid this unfortunate circumstance of forgetting info and instead replace it with better study techniques!
Going to school at any age requires us to learn new things every day. At times, it is hard to remember every topic or concept you have learned. College is a whole different ballgame, where learning and obtaining new information are crucial for our futures. College can be difficult because of other obligations or even jobs, so it is essential to find a successful method to recall information that you have learned. The Self-Reference Affect is one of those successful methods.
Elaborate is what we constantly hear. Did you know we have a great elaborate machine in our brain that takes up what we experience and combines it? Our mind reconstructs what we experience and makes it different, but still lets us retrieve the right information for a deeper understanding of knowledge, like collage.
First, let’s dive into Elaborative Rehearsal, which uses meanings and connections to help transfer information to long-term memory. “Generating questions makes you think hard about the material and fosters comprehension (B. Wong,1995). Additionally, answering questions such as “Why is this true? Or what parts of this page are new to me? will help you to learn because it connects what you are learning to what you already know.” (Putnam et al.,2016) Looking at that quote, you can see that comprehension is done by connections and not just by memorizing information.
Think of the last test you took. Was there a question on that test that you could not remember even though you knew it was in the study guide? Was it in the middle of the study guide rather than the beginning or end? This is the Serial Position Effect. As described, the Serial Position Effect is the tendency to remember information from the beginning or the end but to forget information. While this may seem straight forward, it can actually be quite complex and effect people more often than you would think. But do not worry, we’re gonna talk about it.
It is easy to fall victim to procrastination and decide to cram a study session right before an exam. Procrastinating will only give you mediocre scores and a whole Lotta stress. Our brain can memorize information much more successfully when studying is spaced out across hours, days, or even weeks. Studying too much over a short period can lead to overstimulation of neurons and mental fatigue. If you want to get great exam scores while still being able to go out and enjoy yourself try out the spacing effect. Even if you only study for ten minutes every day for a week, you’ll have more success in memorizing the implementation than you would if you studied for two hours only once. You don’t have to give up your weekends to succeed.
Do you want information to process better and stay in your LTM (Long Term Memory)? Well, all you have to do is follow the Levels of Processing Theory. The Levels processing Theory says the depth of processing information has a big impact on how well it is remembered.
What Is Levels of Processing Theory?
Levels Processing Theory is the theory that assumes that deeper, more meaningful engagement with information leads to better memory retention compared to shallow processing that focuses on surface details. It is also the idea that the way information is encoded affects how well it is remembered. The deeper the level of processing, the easier the information is to recall. With Levels of Processing Theory, there is some Circular reasoning, in the context of levels of processing, refers to the flawed argument where the premises are used to support the conclusion, and the conclusion is also used to support the premises, creating a loop without providing independent evidence for either.
Do you struggle remembering everything discussed in the presentation throughout the lecture? You’re not alone. Let’s take a closer look, using the Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis, at how translating your study notes into stories can aid in improving your information retention skills.
What is Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis?
The Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis makes it that we are able to remember events more easily when we place them into a narrative consistent with the events. This is because the story makes the events more memorable. Taking advantage of the fact that our minds naturally like to work with and memorize information that is presented in story format, this technique takes advantage of our natural instincts. You will need to translate your study material into a narrative. You’d rather concentrate on identifying the central ideas or themes that are contained in the material you are reading and not on memorizing certain facts. This will enable you to comprehend the material better.
Build a Narrative:
1.Apply new information to a story that you are currently telling.
2.If the story you are telling is more imaginative and stimulating, your memory will be better at remembering the information you are telling.
3.Incorporating the feelings is important simply because our brains can remember things that have emotions behind them better. Trying to include feelings in your tale is something that you should attempt to do if you wish it to be remembered better.
4. Rehearsing the story, as it helps to make your memories and your brain become more strongly linked, remembering the story and telling it to yourself a few times is an effective way of strengthening these links.
If you also wish to explain the ideas to another individual, you can tape yourself and listen back later.
Examples from Out in the Real World
Studying the American Revolution? Instead of memorizing dates and names, you can spend time building a story that is centered around important people and events. Imagine, for example, that George Washington is a stubborn hero who is faced with challenges, and that each one of those challenges is a turning point along his journey to independence.
The Current Evidence Served by Science
It has been demonstrated through the application of research that narrative rehearsal is a powerful means of improving memory. The outcome of a study carried out by Gagnon and Dixon (2008) discovered that the implementation of collaborative storytelling resulted in improvement in the ability of the participants’ to recall information.
The More General Advantages Outside of the Examinations
The goal of the Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis is not limited to just enhancing your performance on tests. Instead, it can enhance your overall learning and your ability to retain information. What you are doing is taking the information and converting it into stories. By utilizing this method, learning is made more fun and less overwhelming.
Final Thoughts
In the end, learning does not have to mean staring blankly at a pile of flashcards or rereading the same notes over and over. By turning your study material into stories, you’re not just memorizing, you’re challenging your brain more deeply and more meaningfully. The Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis reminds us that our brains are wired to remember stories, especially when we rehearse them with emotion and structure. So the next time you’re cramming for a major test, give it a try. It might be the lifesaver you need to get learning to work better, and even kinda fun.
Gagnon, L. M., & Dixon, R. A. (2008). Remembering and retelling stories in individual and collaborative contexts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(9), 1275–1297. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1437
Piroelle, M., Guette, C., & Abadie, M. (2024). EXPRESS: The Role of Articulatory Rehearsal in Short-Term False Memories during Aging. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218241269320
Introduction You’re feeling on top of a course- You don’t need to do anything else, procrastinating on studying before the night of an exam because it’s easy to remember. You feel the answers coming to you so easily, and feel on top of the world…and then the grade comes back, and it’s a D. How does this happen? You look at the course material, and realize tiny differences here and there. Sometimes you might recall these differences, and inwardly sigh for not remembering them in the moment, but other times you might not even recall seeing this information. This effect is called the misinformation effect. A method in which the brain tricks itself over time, with the original memory of happenings being distorted by new experiences.(4) It sounds wide-ranging, and it is.
Have you ever noticed that, when you are working on a tough homework assignment, the world shuts down around you? You become hyper-focused on the task in front of you that you barely register someone coughing a few feet away from you or the sound of music playing through your headphones. However, when you pull out your phone and start watching Tik Tok, suddenly every single noise is audible. The person talking loudly across the room, the sound of someone getting out of a chair, the person coughing from early, all of it begins to distract you from your daily doom scroll. Why is that? Well, you may be experiencing something called load theory of attention, and when it comes time to study for those college exams, it may be something you want to be aware of.
