Abstract
This was a study conducted at IUP on undergraduate students to see if processing information at certain levels would improve memory recall. During the study, we presented the participants with a PowerPoint of information on a made-up country. The participants was randomly assigned to a shallow, medium, or deep processing instruction, which explained to them how to take notes throughout the presentation. After, students’ recieved a distractor task for 15 minutes, and after given a multiple-choice test on the information showed on the slides. The results showed that there was no significant difference between note taking instructions and the number of correct answers. All three-task instructions in the study showed similar means on the recall test.
Effects of Shallow to Deep Levels of Processing on Memory Recall
Sources
Craik and Lockhart (1972) conducted a study where they first introduced the theory of depth of processing, also known as levels on processing. They said that memory processing had levels ranging from shallow to deep. They said that people processed words at a shallow, moderate or deep level. Shallow processing, also known as structural encoding, is when physical features of the information is analyzed. They found that information is usually forgotten because the processing does not involve meaning, so it creates memory that is weak, resulting in information being harder to retrieve. One-way to define moderate processing, also known as
S states that there are four phases to the human memory. He suggests that using a filing cabinet approach to learning things help with memorization. “Human memory is a four - stage process: input, encoding, rehearsal, and retrieval. A problem at any stage affects memory and learning”, (S, 2013). The author goes on to discuss how each process works within his system of learning and memorizing. Inputting information into the filing cabinet is through sensory. We are using taste, smell, sight, hearing and touching at this point just to organize and get the information into the brain but not memorizing or learning anything yet. This phase is the same as the first step in “Tips from the Science of Memory-for Studying and for Life”. Arranging the information in a way that it gives the best structure for remembering it. Next, we encode the information with short term memory, only knowing that the information is there but it is not yet fully understood or committed to long term memory. After that we will rehearse and practice the information that is organized and filed neatly in the filing cabinet because now we know where to go to look for the correct information when we need it for retrieval, the final step of the process. We need to know where to look for the things we have rehearsed and practiced over and over, this information is now committed to long term memory and the only way to keep what we have learned in long term memory is to rehearse it continuously. The author gave some tips on how to maximize our memory capabilities such as studying in a well-lit area, be organized with study material and have everything you need before beginning, get 6-8 hours of sleep every night, and take planned breaks during studying
Low levels of processing include operations like counting the letters in words and higher levels of processing might include forming semantic relationships such as understanding what the words’ meaning is. According to Craig and Lockhart who formulated this theory memory recall would improve as the information is processed in greater depth. However it has been hard to define exactly what depth is and it has been found that there are other factors that make people remember things. (Zachmeister, E.B., Nyberg 1982)
This experiment is based on previous research done. For example, in 1969, in a research by Bower and Clark, no difference in the immediate recall scores of both groups was noted, but when later asked to recall, those who used narrative chaining recalled an average of 93% of the words compared to the control group which only recalled an average of 13% of words. In another experiment, participants who used narrative chaining remembered six times more information than participants who learned by simply repeating the words to themselves (Loftus, 1980). Narrative chaining is particularly useful when a person wants to remember information in a particular order. The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of narrative chaining on memory. It is hypothesized that in a group of 59 participants aged 10-69 years old, participants who use narrative chaining to remember a list of words will remember a higher number and percentage of words when asked to write down as many words as possible through serial recall compared to participants who use maintenance rehearsal.
In video 2, Dr. Chew talks about the difference in shallow and deep processing. Shallow processing is memorizing facts and isolated things whereas deep processing is making connections to real life applications. Many people use shallow processing to memorize definitions or random facts. Doing this does not help you actually learn because you are not making connections to real life situations. Anyone who uses shallow processing can achieve deeper processing my reading the book and answering the questions at the end of the chapter and making
* Levels of processing theory- proposes that deeper levels of processing results in us remembering information for a longer period of time
Levels of processing identities the stages or memory retrieval when needed in hopes that it was stored in long term memory. The different levels of processing are identifying what the word looks life, what
This study will attempt to replicate the findings of Godden and Baddeley (1975) by examining the importance of context in learning and recall. In addition, we will examine whether lack of perceptual cues in the environment affects recall.
“The brain interprets scenes in the instants after they happen, inserting judgments, meaning, and context on the fly” (Carey, 2014, p. 5). Depending on the type of learner the student is, coupled with the environment [classroom] that they are in, each student will learn, or not, the same material differently. Each student has a different ability to recall information [or facts] at varying levels and also, under a variety of circumstances. Often, it is the distractions that the students are exposed to, that will affect their ability to retain and recall information.
XX). An important factor of on how much is actually remember is based on how much one pays attention to the information (Mohs, XXXX).
We found that there was no significant difference between the memory scores of those who thought they had to teach the information and those who were told nothing. Yet, a consistent trend was found with both dependent variables. Although the trend does not fall within the confidence band, it can be considered a consistent trend because it is constant for all four different conditions. Refer to Figure 2, the memory scores were consistently lower when white noise was present, regardless of which condition the participants were in. In addition, the anxiety levels were slightly higher when white noise was present regardless of active or passive condition, refer to Figure 3. Our null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in memory retention of the presentation information between those who are told they must teach the presentation right after and those who are not told anything, and there will be no difference in anxiety levels when noise is introduced into the classroom. However, our study tested the hypothesis that the potential of having to speak publicly would enhance memory retention. Yet, our results proved otherwise.
This second experiment only included young adults and older adults, excluding children. In addition, this experiment was not testing the monitor size because the previous experiment showed that the size was not significant. Instead, this experiment focused more on reading speed and comprehension. First, a long article and a short article were read by each participant. Then two quizzes were given to the participant. One measured whether the participant understood the ideas of the article and the other tested how much they remembered about it. They would read these articles on paper and on a
During her talk, Ethel Sternberg said that it made her very happy when students took her memories and stored “it in the back of their heads.” Her words directly relate to Charlotte Delbo’s differentiation between common and deep memory and how this impacts readers of the Holocaust. Common memory refers to works that are a factual retelling and more importantly, leave the reader undisturbed by the work. On the other hand, deep memory leaves an impression and affects the reader in some capacity. One of the challenges that a Holocaust survivor faces when writing about their experiences is invoking this deep memory. Ethel Sternberg referred as storing it “in the back of their heads” while Delbo always repeated, “Il faut donner à voir” or that “they must be made to see”. In order to transmit a sense of the unthinkable, such as the ambiguity of their survival and the reason for the Holocaust, writers have to make the reader feel the uncomfortable reality of this historical event. Authors such as Delbo, Appelfeld, Pagis, and Foer accomplish this by directly engaging their reader by offering no solution to the Holocaust and concluding on an ambivalent note. In this way, these writers elicit deep memory by not offering an answer to the Holocaust and forcing their readers to reconsider the ambiguous qualities of their writings.
Prior to the early 1970s the prominent idea of how memories were formed and retrieved revolved around the idea of processing memory into specific stores (Francis & Neath, 2014). These memory stores were identified as sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In contrast to this idea, two researchers named Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart proposed an idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval (Goldstein, 2015). This idea is known as the levels of processing theory. According to this theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that a given item is received by an individual (Goldstein, 2015). Craik and Lockhart stressed four points in supporting their theory. First, they argued that memory was the result of a series of analyses, each level of the series forming a deeper level of processing than the preceding level (Francis & Neath, 2014). The shallow levels of processing were believed to hold less importance and are defined as giving little attention to meaning of an item. Examples of which include focusing on how a word sounds or memorizing a phone number by repeating it over and over again (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The deeper levels processing involve paying close attention to the meaning of an item and relating that meaning to something else, an example of which would be focusing on the meaning of a word rather than just how the word sounds (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The second point Craik and Lockhart
Strategies and devices that help us remember information that requires effortful processing are: encoding its meaning, visualizing, and mentally organizing the
About Mnemonics: Mnemonic devices are useful memory aids that can be applied to many different aspects of daily life. There are always certain tidbits of information that people just can’t seem to remember in the form they are presented. People rely on mnemonics when they create some association between that information they wish to remember and other concepts that they already know, or find easier to remember. The use of mnemonics has also been shown to be of significant value in the field of education. Manalo has shown that instruction using a specific type of mnemonics known as “process mnemonics” produced improvements of mathematical ability in students classified as learning disabled [3].Process mnemonics are used