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Theories of memory, how we remember, forgetting and techniques to help to improve your memory:



In this Category

Memory Test

Interactive
Memory Like A Goldfish?

Test your short-term memory with this online feature.
1067
Conditioning

Conditioned Behavior
Conditioned Behavior

What is conditioning? What Pavlov's dogs experiment teaches us about how we learn.
1112
Forgetting

Forgetting
Why Do We Forget?

Why do we forget information? Find out in this fascinating article exploring the purpose of forgetting.
13
Cognitive Load Theory

Cognitive Load
Cognitive Load Theory and Memory

How the cognitive load of a learning task affects a person's ability to memorize it.
111
Schemas and Memory

Schemas
How Schemas Influence Memories

How schemas influence what we pay attention to and the memories we recall.
21
False Memories

False Memories
False Memories

How false memories are created and can affect our ability to recall events.
9243
10 Influential Memory Theories and Studies in Psychology

Memory Psychology
Influential Memory Studies

Discover the experiments and theories that shaped our understanding of how we develop and recall memories.
54
Flashbulb Memory

Flashbulb Memories
"It Happened In a Flash"

Flashbulb memories explained. Includes characteristics of flashbulb memories, factors that affect them and an evaluation of Brown and Kulik's research into flashbulb memories.
Memory and Chewing Gum

Memory Chewing Gum
Chew For Memory?

How research at two universities found memory recall can be improved by chewing gum.
947
Using Mnemonics to Improve Your Memory

Memory Psychology
Using Mnemonics to Improve Your Memory

Remember better using the sounds of words.
49
Depth of Processing

Memory Psychology
Depth of Processing

How does the depth of processing affect how well we remember information?
Drawing Information May Increase Your Ability to Memorize It

Drawing Memories
Draw to Remember

Research suggests that drawing information can lead to it being memorized more effectively than writing it.
15
The Zeigarnik Effect Explained

Zeigarnik Effect
Interrupt to Remember?

Explanation of the Zeigarnik effect, whereby interruption of a task can lead to it being remembered in more detail.
320
How Quickly do our Short-Term Memories Decay?

Memory Psychology
How Quickly Do Our Short-Term Memories Decay?

Study by Peterson & Peterson (1959) of how quickly we forget memories.
Working Memory Model

Memory Psychology
Working Memory Model

A theory on how our memory 'works' to remember things in different ways.
Retentive Method for Memory Improvement

Memory Psychology
Retentive Method For Memory Improvement

How to create a story to remember things using the retentive method.
29
Multi-Store Memory Model

Memory Psychology
Multi-Store Memory Model

How does our memory function? Find out the stages of remembering.
Pegword Mnemonic Memory Method

Memory Psychology
Pegword Mnemonic Memory Method

Using the pegword mnemonic method to remember phone numbers and other numeric sequences.
Eye Contact in Line-Up Study Leads to Misidentification

Gaze Direction
Line-Up Eye Gaze Prompts False Positives

People's ability to identify a face may be influenced by subjects' eye gaze direction, according to a new study.
Miller's Magic Number

Magic Number
Magic Number Seven

Miller (1956): How many pieces of information can you remember? Miller's Magic Number, most likely.
8
Luria Method

Memory Psychology
Luria Method

Use this storytelling method for remembering lists of information using an imaginary journey.
Hypnosis and Memory

Memory Psychology
Hypnosis and Memory

How hypnosis can help improve our memory.
Memory and Food

Memory Psychology
Memory and Food

How food and exercise can affect your ability to remember and recall memories.
What Factors Affect Classical Conditioning?

Memory Psychology
What Factors Affect Classical Conditioning?

A look at the factors that can affect classical conditioning.
Craik & Tulving (1975) Levels of Processing

Memory Psychology
Craik & Tulving (1975) Levels of Processing

Craik & Tulving wanted to test whether the level of processing affected how well we remember information. Read an explanation and evaluation of this research.
Craik & Lockhart (1972) Levels of Processing Theory

Memory Psychology
Craik & Lockhart (1972) Levels of Processing Theory

Traditional theories of memory segmented human memory into different stores.
Memory and Association

Memory Psychology
Memory and Association

Has someone you know approached you in the street, and, try as you might, you just could not remember this person's name? Put names and faces together and don't forget names again with this associative memory technique.
34
Memory Test Results

Memory Psychology
Memory Test Results

Summary of results from the short-term memory test.