#context dependent memory

[diversionedge]

Why Do We Forget Why We Entered a Room? (The Science Explained)

Have You Ever Experienced This? You walk into a room… And suddenly— 👉 you stop👉 you look around👉 and your mind goes blank You were about to do something… But now? 👉 you have no idea what it was So you go back to where you came from… And suddenly— 👉 you remember again Strange, right? The Short Answer (Simple but Powerful) 👉 You forget because your brain treats entering a new space as a…

Why Do We Forget Why We Entered a Room? (The Science Explained)

[thomasoostheim-blog]

Context Dependent Memory - Braintraining #2

The surroundings in which you study have a great influence on your memory. In psychology a common phenomenon is the so called: 'context dependent memory'. This phenomenon reflects on the quality of the reproduction someone performs after studying a certain subject. The more your study place looks like the place in which you are going to reproduce the studied material, the higher the quality of your reproduction will be. 

A research has been done with divers, the divers had to learn an activity which they had to reproduce later. There were two groups, the first group learned the activity on the floor, the second group were taught the activity in the water. Research shows that the second group, which learned to perform the activity under water, performed much better when every single diver had to reproduce the things he or she had learned. 

You might ask yourself right now: how is this possible? Well, I am going to tell you.

During your study sessions you unconsciously associate the theory you're learning with the scenery you are located in. So when you have the same surroundings on your exams and your brains are familiar with a scenery which you are in during that test, it will be easier for you to reproduce the material. 

This effect goes quite far, when you for example use a certain pen while studying and you use the same pen during the test, your results will be better. And believe me, it has nothing to do with superstition. Or when you practice a presentation sitting, though you have to give it in standing position it will be harder to reproduce than when you have practiced it standing. 

Try to apply this to things you have to do and you will see your results will be better.  

This movie illustrates how people can completely forget what they were thinking about just a second ago because of a change of scenery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x8ZnzjdHvI