Memory Improvement Strategies

We are aware that our memory is perfect when we encode the information by understanding the meaning and try to develop rich elaborate encoding.  Apart from this there are several other techniques which are responsible for improving our memory. They are:

Mnemonics

The term ‘Mnemonics’ is derived from the Greek Goddess of memory Mnemosyne.

Broadly speaking mnemonics are a group of memory techniques, or mental ‘slights of hand’ that together facilitate the quick and easy assimilation of information of all kinds.

Facts, figures, names, faces and events, all can be learned and recalled far easier by using mnemonics, than by using the conventional means of rote learning and repetition.

Mnemonics is a strategy which helps to improve memory it includes 

a) Visual imagery 

b) Method of Loci 

c) Organization 

Abnormal Forgetting

Abnormal forgetting not due to any one of the causes mentioned with reference to normal forgetting. It is mostly of recall amnesia type hence retention will be intact to a large extent. Due to certain unusual and motivating causes recalling is completely blocked. Anyway it was not due to self-consciousness or stage fright. The causes are: 

a) Exogenic or external factors 

b) Endogenic or internal factors 

Exogenic or External Factors: 

As said above, if the cause is an external one, it is said to be exogenic. For example, a severe injury to the brain like a shock resulting from a fall or a hit on the head will disturb the memory process badly. If the injury is severe and if affect the cortex, forgetting is more a retention amnesia than recall amnesia. But usually amnesia resulting from a shock is of recall type. 

Normal Forgetting

Forgetting (retention loss) refers to the apparent loss information already encoded and stored in an individual’s long term memory. Forgetting is not really all that bad, and s actually, a pretty natural phenomenon. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that relevant memories are recalled. Forgetting can be reduced by the repetition and / or more elaborate cognitive processing of information. Reviewing information in ways that involve active retrieval seems to slow the rate of forgetting. In ability to remember what was happened during an exciting or disturbing event is in fact due to inattention. This type of memory loss is knows as ‘anterograde amnesia’. In contrast forgetting of things happened before the disturbing event is known as ‘retrograde amnesia’. Even without emotional disturbance and extinction. The actual learning is forgotten either partly or wholly. Such forgotten is due to the following reasons: 

Long Term Memory (LMG)

Long term memory has a large capacity and contains memories that are decades old, in addition to memories that arrives several minutes ago. Atkinson & Shifrrin proposed that information in LTM is encoded semantically, ie: in terms of its meaning. Memories in LTM are relatively permanent and are not likely to be lost. 

The accuracy of LTM is influence by a number of factors. Some of the important factors among them are: 

a) Context 

b) Explicit vs implicit measure of memory 

c) Mood 

d) Expertise 

Short Term Memory (STM)

Short term memory was description by Atkinson & Shiffin in their modal model of memory in which they explained that information in STM lasts only for a very limited that is for about 15-30 seconds. In order to explain the methodology of STM, Brown/ Peterson & Peterson have conducted a study in which participants were asked to study 3 letters. Then they were asked to count backward by 3’s. eg: 100, 97, 94, 91, 88… for short period of time and later were asked to recall the letters they had originally seen. The result revealed for the 1st few trials show that people recalled most of the letters, however after several trials, the previous learnt letters produce interference and thus recall was poor. More ever after 5 seconds delay, people forgot approximately half of what they had seen.

Other techniques also have been used to examine short term memory. One among it is people were asked to study a long list of items such a many words as possible. The result reveled that there existed relationship between the position of the word presented and the probability of recalling the word which was termed as serial position curve/ effect. 

Eg: recalling is accurate for the beginning & end words where as it was poor recall for the middle words some researches views that people were able to recall last words more accurately because the words were still in the STM at the time of recalling.

The size of STM 

One way of measuring the size of STM is to count the no of word accurately recalled at eh end of the list typically the size of STM is estimated to be 2-7 items when the serial – position curve method is used. 

STM size is measured in terms if memory span or the number if items in a row that can be correctly recalled. However, some researches view that pronunciation time is an important determination of STM. More over factors such as anxiety also influences the number of items that could be held in temporary storage. 

Meaning of memory:

Memory is a critical part of all the cognitive processes. It involves maintaining information over time. The information could be maintained for less than a second or as long as a life time.

It is even said that memory involves both remembering and forgetting, which forms the two faces of the same coin, though they are opposed to each other by nature, they play a very significant role in the life of an individual. Eg: remembering a pleasant moment of life makes a man very happy where as remembering an unpleasant moment makes his life miserable. Thus, forgetting that unpleasant moment is very essential. Remembering and forgetting act as tools to maintain physiological or physical homeostasis. The homeostasis is maintained by certain nerve cells of the brain which undergo changes and help to retain what is learned in the form od memory traces and any unpleasant experience will be ejected by the cells such that forgetting occurs. Memory can also be defined as organism’s ability to store, retain, recall information and experiences.

            This process of remembering and forgetting is sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. Some studies have revealed that this process is bases upon 3 laws named as:

1)      Law of contiguity

2)      Law of similarity

3)      Law of contrast

Economics Second Semester Syllabus

Unit-1: Introduction to Macro economics 

• Macro Economics: Meaning and Definitions
• Macro Economics: Nature
• Macro Economics: Types
• Macro Economics: Subject Matter and Central Issues 
• Macro Economics: Scope and Importance
• Macro Economics: Limitations 
• Basic Concepts: Stock, Flow Equilibrium, Short and Long Term
• Concepts of National Income: (GNP, NNP, GDP, NDP, NI, PI, DI)
• Maintenance of National Income
• Importance of National Income Analysis
• Methods of Measuring National Income
• Difficulties in Measuring National Income (Simple Calculation) 

Unit-2: Classical Theory of Employment

• Say's Laws of Markets
• Wage-price Flexibility
• Criticisms of the Classical Theory

Unit-3: Keynesian Theory of Employment

• Concept of Effective Demand and its Determinants 
• Equilibrium Level of Income and Employment
• Conception Function APC, MPC
• Factors Effecting the Conception Function 
• Investment Function 
• Marginal Efficiency of Capital
• Factors Effecting Investment Function
• Multiplier Effect
• Criticism of Keynesian Theory of Employment

Unit-4: New Classical Macroeconomics

• New Classical Macroeconomics
• Supply Side Economics and its Theoretical Proposition  
• Rational Expectation and Policy Calculation

Unit-5: Macro Economic Policy

• Business Cycles and Role of Macro Economic Policy
• Business Cycles: (Meaning and Types)
• Phases of Business Cycles
• Meaning of Inflation
• Types of Inflation
• Causes of Inflation
• Control of Inflation
• Effects of Inflation
• Inflationary Gap
• Meaning of Deflation
• Effects of Deflation
• Monetary Policy
• Fiscal Policy