Student: Professor, thank you for graining me this interview. I’m Susan, a reporter from the Student Union magazine. Many students have difficultly memorizing things. Since you‘re an outstanding psychologist, could you give us some tips on how top improve our memory?
Professor: Well, some people have better memories than others, but that’s largely because they are better at creating mental images.
Student: If I’m not good at creating images, what can I do?
Professor: Practice helps. And the mind remembers things better if they are connected with other images. For example, I you have to pick up several items at the grocery store, say, carrots, egg, bananas, and milk, you can create a picture in your mind of a giant carrot, and hanging from it, a banana.
Student: Then I could have a giant milk carton pouring milk over the carrot and banana.
Professor: Certainly. Then what would you do with the egg?
Student: Hmmm. I’d visualize an egg-shaped UFO flying across the sky.
Professor: There you go. The more you apply the ideas, the easier it gets. Besides creating pictures, there’s another technique that is very useful.
Student: What is it?
Professor: Establishing an association. Suppose you are looking for lost keys.
Relax, and let your mind look for all the images connected with those keys--their feel, the sounds they make.
Student: How will that help?
Professor: You might remember the sound the keys made when you placed then in a drawer or cold touch of the keys in your jacket were you left them.
Student: Oh my gosh! I have to run. It’s time my English class. I see an image of my teacher staring at my empty seat in the classroom. Many thanks, Professor.
Professor: Not at all, and good luck with your memory.
Ways of Improving One’s MemoryExamples
Creating images
To remember the items to buy sat the grocery store such as carrots, eggs, bananas, and milkImages that you may help:
1.a giant carrot and a banana hanging from it
2. a giant milk carton pouring milk over the carrot and banana
3. an egg-shaped UFO flying across the sky
Establishingassociations
To find your lost keysAssociations with sound touch that may help:
1. The sound of the keys might remind you of y\having placed then in a drawer.
2. The cold touch of the keys might remind you of them in your jacket.