MODULE 24 PREVIEW
Although some types of information are encoded automatically, other types, including information
involving meaning, imagery, and organization, require effort. Mnemonic devices that use imagery and
that organize information into chunks aid memory. Organizing into hierarchies also helps.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
1. To describe how we encode information.
2. To describe what we encode.
MODULE GUIDE
How We Encode
1. Distinguish between automatic and effortful processing, and discuss the importance of rehearsal.
To some extent, encoding occurs automatically. With little or no effort, we encode an enormous amount
of information about space, time, and frequency. For example, we can recreate a sequence of the day’s
events in order to guess where we might have left a coat. Automatic processing occurs without our
awareness and without interfering with our thinking about other things.
Other types of information require attention and effort (effortful processing). For example, our memory
of a new telephone number will disappear unless we work to maintain it in consciousness. Rehearsal, or
conscious repetition, is a valuable aid to retention. The spacing effect indicates that rehearsal yields
better long-term retention if learning is distributed. A further illustration of the benefits of rehearsal is
demonstrated by the serial position effect: In learning a list, people often remember the last and first
items better than the middle items.
Exercise: Serial Position Effect in Recalling U.S. Presidents
Transparencies: 105 Ebbinghaus’s Retention Curve; 106 The Serial Position Effect
What We Encode
2. Explain the importance of meaning, imagery, and organization in the encoding process.
When processing verbal information for storage, we usually encode its meaning. For example, we
associate it with what we already know or imagine. Research indicates that semantic encoding (of
meaning) yields better memory of verbal information than acoustic encoding (of sound) or visual
encoding (of an image). This research also highlights the futility of trying to remember words we do not
understand and the benefits of rephrasing what we read and hear into meaningful terms.
Exercises: Visually Versus Auditorily Encoded Information; The Self-Reference Effect
Transparency: 107 Type of Encoding Affects Word Recognition
In a variety of experiments, researchers have documented the benefits of mental imagery. For example,
people who form the most vivid visual images of strangers also remember them best. Imagery is at the
heart of many memory aids, or mnemonic devices such as the “method of loci” and the “peg-word”
system.
When we organize information into meaningful units, we recall it more easily. Chunking occurs so
naturally that we often take it for granted. When people develop expertise in an area, they often process
information in hierarchies composed of a few broad concepts divided and subdivided into lesser concepts
and facts. In this way, experts can retrieve information efficiently.
Exercises: Meaning and Memory; Semantic Encoding of Pictures; Chunking
Lecture: Mnemonic Devices; The Keyword Method
Transparency: 108 Effects of Chunking on Memory