Take a nap and get smart

Even though the memory tricks have come to an end, I have got one exciting new trick for you to store your memories carefully. When I have a period with lots of exams I sometimes take a nap, and not because some books are so boring that I almost fall asleep. I do this because I feel like afterwards I can better remember the things I had learned before. I did not know how this worked and if it worked for more people, however recent research by the University of California has shown that people were indeed better able to remember things after they took a nap.

For this experiment 44 volunteers were invited to the laboratory at 12:00 pm. They had to remember 100 names and faces for the test they had to make at 18:00 pm. Half of the group was allowed to sleep between 14:00 pm and 15:40 pm, while the other group remained awake. The people who slept after they learned the names and faces performed better than the ones who stayed awake. The difference between the two groups was even about twenty percent.

The scientists suspect that during a nap the information in the hippocampus, the part in the brain where memories are made, moves to the long term memory. Since the hippocampus is emptied, a person is ready to store new memories.

Although I do not recommed you to go to sleep during a lecture, do not hesitate to take a nap while you are studying for an important test. There is a big chance you will do better on your test. Sleep well!

Sunday, March 20, 2011 // Labels: Fun Research, Memory Tricks // 1 comments //

Back on track with a brand new layout

Hello everyone! Here is a quick update. I know it has been almost two weeks since my latest blogpost, but I'm back and this time with a brand new layout!

I have chosen a blue layout, because I was reading a very interesting research article about the influence of color on the purchasing habits of shoppers. It was an article of Bellizi, who investigated two colors, blue and red, within an electronics store. In the experiment where the store was blue, the visitors stayed longer in the store and were more likely to buy something than when the store was colored red. The people who were in the red store quickly left. I thought if this works for stores, it might also work for blogs. Of course I do not want my visitors to leave quickly, thus I thought a new blue layout was the best option. Within a few weeks I will see the results in Google Analytics, so let's hope my hypothesis is right. Moreover, I did not want to frighten you away with a red layout, as you could see in my previous post.

I have spent quite some time figuring out the HTML, but it is more or less finished right now. I'm very curious what you think, so let me know! Moreover, I have a lot of new and interesting updates for you, so stay tuned!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 // // 2 comments //

The excuse to buy that stunning red dress

Good news for the ones of you who love to wear red. Researchers of our University have determined that people who wear red clothes have more success in negotiations.

Within the experiment people had to negotiate with each other about the purchase and sale of coffee. The only thing that varied in the experiment was the color of clothing, which was red or white. It appeared that both buyers and sellers got significantly better results in the negotiations when they wore a red shirt.

The explanation the researcher gives is that there will probably be a fright when people are confronted with the color red, making them worse performers in the negotiations. It even seemed that people who were exposed to the color red before they made an IQ test performed less than people who saw the color grey.

So, if you want to negotiate about the price of those beautiful new shoes or the holiday destination of this summer, be sure to wear something red!

// Labels: Fun Research // 3 comments //

Memory Tricks Part 4: The Method of Loci

The method of Loci is one of the most famous mnemonic techniques for remembering. With this method you connect information with visual images of a map that is familiar to you.

For example, if you need to learn the digestive system, you can link the different phases of this system to your own house. You enter your house through the front door (mouth) and then enter the living room (esophagus). Then you walk to the kitchen (stomach) and walk up the stairs (small intestine) to the bedroom (large intestine). You finish on the toilet in the bathroom (anus). When you walk this map a few times in your head, you will see you easily remember all different phases.

Trick 1: Use the method of Loci for remembering different phases or objects in a specific order.

In the example above you have connected a room to every object. However, you can also do this the other way around by connecting an object to a place. This can be very easy when you are trying to remember a shopping list or a to-do list.

(1) Think of a route you often walk or drive. This can be the route to work or school, the rooms of your own house, the route you usually walk in the forest or garden, anything.

(2) Create key points within this route. For example, the rooms of your house, the traffic lights, the roundabout, the bakery or the big house on the corner.

(3) Connect every room or key point to an object you are trying to remember. The trick is to make really strange combinations, because the sillier it is, the more likely you are to remember it.

In this example we will use the rooms in a random house and we have to remember a grocery list with the following items: milk, shampoo, grapes and butter. You start within the kitchen where you see shampoo bubbles overflowing in the kitchen sink. When you walk to the living room you see grapes hanging from the chandelier and when you walk to the hallway, you see a fountain with milk. Finally, you want to run up the stairs, but you slip because it is completely smeared with butter.

Walk this route in your head a couple of times with these mental images. When you eventually are doing grocery shopping, you start walking the route again and you can easily remember every single item on your list.

The first time I heard about this method, I thought it was a silly thing and rather impossible. However, the truth is that it is a very easy and efficient way to learn things by heart. The first few times you apply it you will be surprised by all the things you can remember. Moreover, the more you use this method the better you will manage it.

Trick 2: Use the famous method of Loci for remember shopping lists or to-do lists.

With the method of Loci we have come to the end of the Memory Tricks series. Click here if you want to read previous parts:
• Memory Tricks Part 1: How chocolate and perfume can help you improve your grades
• Memory Tricks Part 2: The magic of numbers
• Memory Tricks Part 3: The power of mnemonics

I hope you have enjoyed the tricks and that they were helpful for you. If you have any questions regarding these tricks, please leave a comment and I will be glad to answer it.

Sunday, February 27, 2011 // Labels: Cognition, Memory Tricks // 5 comments //

Memory Tricks Part 3: The Power of Mnemonics

The chunking method, explained in Memory Tricks Part 2, can be very easy with numbers, but when it comes to something like a shopping list these methods won’t work. This is when mnemonics can be very useful. The trick with mnemonics is to learn ‘meaningless’ materials by creatively adding meaning. The nice thing is that it can be learned by anyone, since you link your already existing knowledge in order to learn more information and to make storage easier.

Primarily, first letter mnemonics can be very useful for remembering all kind of different things. When I have to learn large lists for an exam I always take the first letter of every object and try to make a word out of it. This way, I only have to remember this word. Research showed that showing the first letter of a word, makes most people remember the word again.

An easy example I had to learn are the four uncertainty reduction strategies for social media: passive, active, interactive and self-disclosure. I made the word ‘PISA’ from it. When I saw the first letters, I could easily remember the names of the four strategies and these names referred to the content of each strategy.

Trick 1: Try to make a word of the first letters of the objects you have to learn.

Another example of these first letter mnemonics are spelling acronyms. Sometimes words can be very hard to write and by learning an easy sentence you can remember how to write it.

ARITHMETIC: A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream

BECAUSE: Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants

GEOGRAPHY: George Edwards’s Old Grandma Rode A Pig Home Yesterday

NECESSARY: Not Every Cat Eats Sardines, Some Are Really Yummy

RHYTHM: Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move

Trick 2: Use spelling acronyms for remember how to write a difficult word.

The same counts for list order acronyms. Sometimes you have to remember objects in a specific order. Therefore these list order mnemonics can be very useful, since they are much easier to remember than the lists itself.

Order of colours in the rainbow, or visual spectrum

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain

Order of taxonomy in biology

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach

Trick 3: Use list order acronyms for remembering specific orders.

In the last episode of Memory Tricks I will tell you about one of the most famous mnemonic tricks: the Methode of Loci. This trick learns you have you can easily remember shopping lists or to-do lists. Click here for Memory Tricks Part 4.

// Labels: Cognition, Memory Tricks // 0 comments //