You have probably used these strategies at one time or another even if you didn’t know what these strategies are called. They are mnemonic devices. They include memory techniques such as rhymes, phrases, acronyms, and rules to assist with memorization.
An example shown here is with Freud’s Psychosexual Development:
Orphan Annie was a Positive Little Girl
O-Oral, A-Anal, P-Phallic, L-Latent, and G-Genital
Here is an excerpt from an article I found explaining different types of mnemonic devices. I encourage you to play around with these when you are studying content and see if they help you retain the information in different ways. Click on the article to also see various ways to use these strategies. The article can be found here: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/mnemonic-devices-explained#5-types-of-mnemonic-devices
5 Types of Mnemonic Devices
Consider some of the different types of mnemonic devices you can use to increase your retention of information.
- Method of loci: Also known as the memory journey method, this mnemonic device employs visualizations. Use the method of loci by imagining yourself moving through a familiar space. This form of image mnemonics can help you remember routes, locations, and lists.
- Chunking: Chunking is a form of organization mnemonics where you break down pieces of information and learn them individually before putting them together. This method can help you remember phone numbers (ten digits separated into three separate chunks) and grocery lists. Chunking is useful for surpassing the average short-term memory limit of seven pieces of information.
- Acronyms and acrostics: Also known as name mnemonics, use this method to create a new word or group of words by taking the first letter of each word or line and putting them together. Some examples of this technique include “Roy G. Biv” for the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) and “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” (PEMDAS) for the order of operations in mathematics (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction). Other examples include “HOMES” to remember the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) and “FANBOYS” for coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
- Rhyming mnemonics: This device uses acoustic encoding and auditory stimuli to help you remember information. One example of rhyming mnemonics is the leap year poem, also known as “Thirty Days Hath September.”
- Music mnemonics: Another method that uses auditory stimuli is music mnemonics. Putting information to music is a great way to assist with retention. For example, “the ABC song” uses the melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to assist with alphabet memorization.
Do you know of any other strategies to help with memorization? Post in the comments below!