Do Memory Strategies Really Work?
Chances are, at one time or another, you wished you could improve your memory. But, it can be difficult to know what, if anything, works?
Martin Dresler and colleagues (2017) were interested in what enables memory athletes to memorize large strings of information and wanted to see if these techniques could be used effectively by anyone.
They had three groups of participants. The researchers told one group to practice the method of loci (a mnemonic technique commonly used by memory athletes) for 30 minutes a day for six weeks. The next group was told to practise holding information in their heads for short periods but were not given any particular strategy. The third group was a control group, and therefore they did not receive any memory training.
After six weeks of training, those who learned the loci technique method were able to remember significantly more words from a long list of words than the other two groups.
What’s more, the brain scans of those in the method of loci group became closer to the scans of memory athletes, and they performed much better than the other groups four months later.
The study shows that this powerful memory technique, the loci method, can be learned by anyone and that their brains can be changed through its use.
However, it’s important to understand that although the loci method is a very effective technique for memorizing large lists of information, the results may not improve your ability to function in everyday life.
Takeaway Message
Effective memory strategies exist. Using them, we can improve our ability to remember specific information, such as long lists of words or items.
