Imagery And Memory

Find an example of an event that illustrates the topic (this could be something that happened to you, a news report, etc.). Discuss the event in relation to the course topic you chose. Your blog should also expand on the course content by discussing an academic reference not covered in the class content (e.g., a research article).

This assignment is an opportunity to show your expertise in cognitive psychology concepts and theories. Most of your blog content should be dedicated to explaining/discussing the details of cognitive psychology concepts/theories. Assume that the reader is not familiar with cognitive psychology, so you should explain each concept in detail in a way that is accessible to the general public.

Support your ideas/arguments with academic references. The ideas discussed in your blog should not be just your intuitions about how the mind works. Instead, support your statements with academic references (i.e., experts agree with your proposal/views). You can use the class textbook and the Canvas Lessons as references. In addition to these, you also need to include another academic reference (e.g., scientific journal article, encyclopedia entry). Popular culture references (e.g., interviews, blogs, and pop culture magazine articles) do not count as an academic reference.

Your blog must have at least 450 words of original content (references, citations, and direct quotes do not count as original content). Your blog should not exceed 600 words.

Use a general five-paragraph essay format: an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs that support and develop your ideas, and a concluding paragraph. You do not need to use exactly five paragraphs, but you should introduce the topic, provide support, and summarize the essay.

Topic of discussion:
Imagery and Memory

Visual imagery is also known to serve as a powerful retrieval cue for memory. In fact, one method that has been used to improve memory is based on the relationship between mental imagery and memory (the study of techniques to improve memory is sometimes referred to as mnemonics).

The method of loci has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks (Yates, 1966). The idea behind the method of loci is that we can relate items we want to remember (parts of a speech, grocery list, etc.) to a location that we know well. To use the method of loci, you would create a mental image associating the items you want to remember with an area that you know well (your house, the town you live in, etc.).

For example, let’s say you wanted to remember a few things you wanted to pick up from the store (milk, eggs, cereal, a loaf of bread, and some dog food). We can use your house as an example. You can imagine driving into your driveway and parking in the garage, walking through the back door where you put your jacket into a closet and walk into the kitchen. You would need to associate each of the locations with a grocery item that you want to remember. You might visualize your driveway filled with milk cartons (in order for the method to be effective, you need to create a strong mental image). You then might picture opening the garage door and seeing your garage filled with eggs (again, a strong mental image is important). Then, you might think of your back door as a cereal box and your closet where you hang your jacket as being filled with slices of bread. Finally, when you walk into your kitchen, you might think of your dog cooking dog food on the stove top.

Creating a strong mental image of the items we want to remember with a location that we know well helps create retrieval cues that allow us to access the items. When you get to the grocery store, all you need to do is imagine that you are driving into your house. As you picture your driveway, garage, closet, and kitchen, the mental images you created will come back to you, and you will be able to remember the groceries that you need (milk, eggs, cereal, a loaf of bread, and some dog food). Try it sometime!

There are also people who have unbelievable visual memories. Take a look at the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVqRT_kCOLI

The individual’s name is Stephen Wiltshire, and he has been diagnosed with autism. His visual memory abilities are not normal for someone who suffers with autism, but his ability to create drawings from memory is unbelievable. In fact, I wouldn’t be able to draw Rome to the same level if the city was right in front of me and I had unlimited time!