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12 PRINCIPLES OF MEMORY
How to get more out of your studying
and test preparation

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1. SELECTIVITY
TRYING TO LEARN EVERYTHING IS NOT POSSIBLE AND NOT REASONABLE.
BY USING SELECTIVITY, YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO
FOCUS ON AND WHAT CAN BE IGNORED. SELECTIVITY IS THE PROCESS
OF IDENTIFYING AND SEPARATING MAIN IDEAS AND IMPORTANT DETAILS
FROM A LARGER BODY OF INFORMATION. SELECTIVITY HELPS YOU
DECIDE WHAT TO SURVEY IN A CHAPTER, WHAT TO HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR
TEXTBOOK ,WHAT INFORMATION TO PUT IN YOUR NOTES, AND WHAT TO
STUDY FOR A TEST.

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2. ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION IS THE PROCESS OF FORMING VISUAL OR AUDITORY CUES
TO LINK TOGETHER TWO OR MORE ITEMS OR CHUNKS OF INFORMATION
TO PROCESS IN MEMORY. ASSOCIATIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT
OF COGNITIVE PROCESS. WORKING MEMORY CREATES ASSOCIATIONS ON
A REGULAR BASIS. AN EXAMPLE OF ASSOCIATION IS THE MEMORY
DEVICE: “SUPER MAN HELPS EVERY ONE” TO REMEMBER THE FIVE
GREAT LAKES IN ORDER FROM WEST TO EAST (SUPERIOR, MICHIGAN,
HURON, ERIE, AND ONTARIO).

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3. VISUALIZATION
VISUALIZATION IS A POWERFUL MEMORY TOOL, ESPECIALLY
FOR VISUAL LEARNERS, BECAUSE IT PRESENTS INFORMATION
IN A VISUAL OR GRAPHIC FORM. THE PROCESS OF
VISUALIZATION INVOLVES MAKING PICTURES OR “MOVIES” IN
YOUR MIND.

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4. ELABORATION
ELABORATION IS THE PROCESS OF THINKING ABOUT, PONDERING, OR
WORKING WITH AND ENCODING INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS.
ELABORATION FORCES YOU TO MOVE BEYOND ROTE MEMORY. WHEN
YOU USE ROTE MEMORY FOR RECALLING TEXTBOOK INFORMATION, SUCH
AS A SERIES OF STEPS OR A FORMULA FOR A MATH EQUATION, YOU MAY
FIND YOURSELF UNABLE TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS THAT PRESENT THE
INFORMATION IN A FORM OTHER THAN THE EXACT FORM YOU
MEMORIZED. HOWEVER, BY ELABORATING ON THE INFORMATION AND
ENCODING AND USING IT IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, YOU MOVE BEYOND THE
LIMITATIONS OF ROTE MEMORY.

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5. CONCENTRATION
TO CONCENTRATE IS THE ABILITY TO BLOCK OUT DISTRACTIONS IN
ORDER TO STAY FOCUSED ON ONE SPECIFIC ITEM OR TASK. YOU CAN
STRENGTHEN YOU ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE BY BEING AN ACTIVE
LEARNER. ACTIVE LEARNING IS THE PROCESS OF USING A VARIETY OF
STRATEGIES THAT ACTIVELY INVOLVE OR ENGAGE YOU IN THE LEARNING
PROCESS. LEARNING TO CONCENTRATE RESULTS IN A DISCIPLINED AND
ATTENTIVE MIND THAT IS RECEPTIVE TO THE LEARNING PROCESS.

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6. RECITATION
RECITATION IS A POWERFUL MEMORY TOOL THAT INVOLVES THE
PROCESS OF EXPLAINING INFORMATION CLEARLY, OUT LOUD IN YOUR
OWN WORDS, AND IN COMPLETE SENTENCES WITHOUT REFERRING TO
PRINTED MATERIALS. READING THE MATERIAL OUT LOUD ENCODES THE
INFORMATION LINGUISTICALLY AND USES AN AUDITORY CHANNEL INTO
YOUR LONG-TERM MEMORY.

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7. INTENTION
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW YOU LEARN, WHAT YOU NEED TO LEARN,
AND WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU AND THE SPECIFIC
LEARNING TASK INVOLVED. ONCE YOU KNOW THIS, YOU CAN USE
ACTION-ORIENTED OR GOAL-ORIENTED BEHAVIOR TO ACTIVATE YOUR
MEMORY. INTENTION IS THE PROCESS OF CREATING A PURPOSE OR A
GOAL TO ACT OR PERFORM IN A SPECIFIC WAY. IT INVOLVES SETTING A
LEARNING GOAL THAT CLEARLY STATES WHAT YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH
AND A PLAN OF ACTION THAT SHOWS HOW YOU INTEND TO ACHIEVE YOUR
GOAL.

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8. BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES
THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES IS SOMETIMES
REFERRED TO AS SEEING “THE FOREST AND THE TREES.” IF YOU FOCUS
ONLY ON THE FOREST, YOU MISS THE MEANING AND BEAUTY OF
INDIVIDUAL TREES. IF YOU FOCUS ONLY ON A FEW INDIVIDUAL TREES,
YOU MISS SEEING HOW ALL THE TREES TOGETHER MAKE A FOREST. THE
MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES IS A PROCESS OF
IDENTIFYING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INFORMATION. THE “BIG PICTURES”
ARE THE SCHEMAS, THEMES, CONCEPTS, AND MAIN IDEAS. THE “LITTLE
PICTURES” ARE THE SUPPORTING DETAILS, SUCH AS FACTS, DEFINITIONS,
EXAMPLES, OR PARTS OR COMPONENTS OF A LARGER CONCEPT. BOTH
HIGHER AND LOWER LEVELS OF INFORMATION ARE IMPORTANT IN THE
LEARNING PROCESS.

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9. FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK IS THE PROCESS OF VERIFYING HOW ACCURATELY AND
THOROUGHLY YOU HAVE OR HAVE NOT LEARNED SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
FEEDBACK INVOLVES A SEQUENCE OF STEPS: GOAL—ACTION—
FEEDBACK—COMPARISON—RESULTS. SO YOU SET YOUR LEARNING
GOAL, DEVELOP A PLAN OF ACTION TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, SELF-QUIZ
TO TEST YOUR RECALL OF THE INFORMATION, COMPARE YOUR MEMORY
WITH YOUR NOTES OR TEXTBOOK, AND EXAMINE YOUR RESULTS TO
DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU KNOW THE INFORMATION. ONE OF
THE KEY PARTS OF THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF FEEDBACK INVOLVES
USING SELF-QUIZZING, A PROCESS OF TESTING YOURSELF SO YOU CAN
RECEIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF
YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

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10. ORGANIZATION
THE PROCESS OF CREATING MEANINGFUL, LOGICAL STRUCTURE OR
ARRANGEMENT OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION IS THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE
OF ORGANIZATION. ORGANIZE INFORMATION IN NEW AND MEANINGFUL
WAYS BY REORGANIZING, REGROUPING, OR REARRANGING INFORMATION
IN NEW WAYS HELPS YOU EXAMINE THE INFORMATION MORE CAREFULLY,
CONNECT IMPORTANT IDEAS, PERSONALIZE THE INFORMATION, HOLD
INFORMATION LONGER IN YOUR MEMORY, AND INCREASE
COMPREHENSION, CONCENTRATION, INTEREST, AND MOTIVATION.
CATEGORIZE THE INFORMATION BY MAKING LISTS, USE A PATTERN TO
ORGANIZE INFORMATION (SUCH AS CHRONOLOGICAL, SPATIAL, ETC.),
AND USE A NEW METHOD TO PRESENT INFORMATION (SUCH AS VISUAL
MAPPING, FORMAL OUTLINES, CORNELL NOTES, MNEMONICS, ETC.)

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11. TIME ON TASK
WHEN YOU ALLOCATE SUFFICIENT TIME AND SPACE CONTACT TIME
EFFECTIVELY TO LEARN COURSE MATERIAL, YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE
PROCESS OF TIME ON TASK. HOW YOU USE TIME AND HOW MUCH TIME
YOU SPEND ON LEARNING AFFECT THE QUALITY OF YOUR LEARNING
EXPERIENCE AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL REMEMBER
THE INFORMATION. OBVIOUSLY THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND ON
LEARNING NEW MATERIAL AND MAKING SURE YOU SPACE THAT TIME IN
SUCH A WAY THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CRAM AT THE LAST MINUTE, WILL
ENSURE YOU REMEMBER THE INFORMATION. USE EFFECTIVE TIME
MANAGEMENT TO HELP YOU MONITOR AND USE TIME EFFECTIVELY. DO
NOT RUSH THE LEARNING PROCESS AND PLAN SUFFICIENT STUDY TIME
FOR EACH COURSE.

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12. ONGOING REVIEW
ONGOING REVIEW IS THE PROCESS OF PRACTICING PREVIOUSLY
LEARNED INFORMATION. EVEN THOUGH INFORMATION IN LONG-TERM
MEMORY IS CONSIDERED TO BE PERMANENT, WITHOUT ONGOING
REVIEW, INFORMATION CAN FADE. ONGOING REVIEW IS A CRUCIAL STEP
IN THE LEARNING PROCESS...IT IS THE FINAL STEP OF MOST READING,
NOTE TAKING, AND STUDY SKILL STRATEGIES. INCLUDE TIME EACH WEEK
TO REVIEW PREVIOUSLY LEARNED INFORMATION. REMEMBER PRACTICE
MAKES PERFECT.

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SOURCE:
• Wong, Linda. Essential Study Skills. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 2009. Print.