How to conduct the method of free association? Associative methods - a person in the world of creativity Areas of application of the method of directed associations

Everyone at least once in their life asked themselves the question of How can you quickly and easily memorize information? At the same time, so that it remains in our memory once and for all. What do you need to know for this?

In order to understand this, as well as learn how to memorize more words, texts, pictures and even numbers, first of all, we suggest paying attention to the principles, knowing which it will be much easier to memorize any information.

5 Principles of Effective Memory

1. Clarity. It is necessary to understand that any information is easier to perceive when it is familiar and understandable to us. If, while reading a book, there are unfamiliar terms in the text, it would be better to first parse them, and then proceed to memorization.
2. Structure. When the information is organized. An example is books, dictionaries, catalogs in which information is divided into certain sequences, categories and blocks.
3. Visualization. Any information that can be represented in the form of vivid visual images is easier to remember, since visual memory works better than other types of memory.
4. Association. Everything that surrounds us is interconnected. For example, if you imagine a dog, then simultaneously with its image, others will emerge through associations: a collar, a muzzle, a leash, a ball, a bone. So in the process of memorization, when we can link new information with the old, it will be much easier to remember.
5. Attention. If you don't pay attention to something, you won't be able to remember it. Good example that is your interest. Everything that will be connected with them will be remembered easily. Attention is directed to interesting topic automatically. Where there is no interest, there will be the opposite effect.

How is information converted into visual images?

The transformation of information into visual images occurs through associations. We associate everything: numbers, geometric figures, colors, actions. Any information can be represented in the form of images. To do this, there are many associative techniques.

However, not all of them may be applicable to memorizing information using mnemonic methods. Divide into 2 groups and consider in more detail.

Group I. General methods of associations

1. word-building- this is when words are formed from single-root words (blue - bruise, blue).
2. paradigmatic- this is when we use words that are used within the same paradigm (table - chair).
3. Syntagmatic- these are associations that are used with other similar words within the same context (apple - red; cloud - white).
4. Thematic- these are words within the same topic (dark - night).
5. Quoted- this is when we use words within the framework of one phrase, a poem, a well-known work that is well known (blue - wagon, old man - sea).
6. Grammar- this is when we, by modifying the word, prefix, ending, suffix, use the received words (elephant - elephant, run - run).

Group II. Associative methods for use in mnemonics

1. Visual - this is when we encode information in a way that is visually similar to that kind of information. For example, the number 7 looks like a braid, 2 looks like a swan. This method is used to memorize some abstract pictures, drawings, hieroglyphs, numbers.
2. Phonetic. This association technique is the most popular in transformation and is used to memorize names, texts, formulas, terms and English words. The transformation takes place:
   • at the level of rhyme(cake, port, variety);
   • by consonance- this is when some letters just match (Anna - bath, mole - BED).
3. Contextual- this is when we remember a sequence of images one after another based on a specific context. For example, a pedestal - a cup, a medal, a diploma, an athlete).
4. Personal - this is when from life events you remember an image that vividly reminds you of a particular word or piece of information. For example, Lena is fishing. Let's say that you had such a girl in the class who constantly skipped classes because of fishing.
5. Symbolic- this is when the word does not have a specific image, it is abstract, it does not exist in our real world, it cannot be touched. The association method allows you to create specific pictures for such words. For example, love is a heart, victory is a cup).

Important! In order to avoid errors in the use of associations, certain rules must be followed.

Rules for converting to images using the association method

1. Do not pick up a garland of synonyms for the word. For example: sadness - sadness - longing. At first glance, these words seem to be close and associative, but they are not clear and vivid visual images;
2. Don't go over too many options. From the point of view of effective memorization, it is necessary to memorize faster, and for this it is better to use the first free association that appears in the imagination.
3. Create images:
   • Bright- the richer, brighter, the better.
   • Large— no matter what you represent specifically. Even if it is a small object, in the imagination it should be large.
   • colored- it is better to present the images as they are in real life, that is, natural in color.
   • Volumetric- that is, not flat, but like 3D pictures.
   • Detailed- can be presented not quite detailed, it is enough to see the object in outline.

It should be noted that most people, when learning the method of associations, experience difficulties in selecting vivid visual images for a word, so we will share little secrets that will help to do this much faster and easier.

How can you quickly find an association to the word

In fact, the answer lies on the surface. The age of high technology opens up great opportunities for us. So, for the selection of visual images for words can be used any search engine on the Internet. For example:

Option 1

Go to the image search, enter the desired word and choose among the images that appear close to it;

Option 2

You type in the required word in the search bar, at this time Yandex starts searching for consonant words and, thereby, gives a hint different words similar and consonant;

Option 3

Find any sites for the selection of associative words and select the right one.

Video: memory and associations

Practice

Try to complete the task! Choose the associative method you like and convert the following into images 10 words:

Hope - Zhanna - Laughter - Joy - Aspiration - Gratitude - Sound - Speech - Maxim - Depth

Methods of associative search for ideas help to establish connections between concepts, allow you to generalize information, update information stored in memory, and give impetus to creative thinking. You have probably noticed how a word you accidentally heard or some object you see gives rise to seemingly unrelated images and activates your imagination. This is how associative thinking works.

What are associations?

Association is a relationship between separate views, in which one of the views calls another.

“Dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a second before awakening”, Salvador Dali, 1944

Associations, like bridges, can connect newly received information with existing ones. In our minds, associations replace each other in a continuous stream, arising in response to all kinds of stimuli. Associative thinking is an extremely important component of the human mind, allowing it to generalize and abstract.

With the help of associations and metaphors, one can establish connections between concepts. This is useful for generating ideas. It is believed that any two concepts can be connected by a chain of ten associative transitions on average. For example, the associative transition between the concepts of "wood" and "ball" will look like this: "wood" - "forest", "forest" - "field", "field" - "football", "football" - "ball". And how to connect the concepts of "sky" and "tea": "sky" - "earth", "earth" - "water", "water" - "drink", "drink" - "tea".

Features of associative thinking

It has been established that the number of direct associative links of any concept (word) is on average about ten. One associative step makes it possible to choose from 10 words, the second - from 10 2 , the third - from 10 3 , the fourth - from 10 5 . Thus, each step by an order of magnitude increases the number of connections of a given concept with other concepts for one reason or another, which significantly expands the possibilities for choosing solution ideas.

A feature of associative thinking is the ability to highlight the common features of things - to generalize without conducting a logical analysis. Associations can be seen as a source additional information which can be used in the creative process.

Associations are able, as if by a chain, to "pull out" from the corners of our consciousness the most diverse, often quite unexpected, memories, images, thoughts, which significantly expand the scope of creative search.

Methods of associative search for ideas are good, for example, when creating the plot of an advertising video. Unexpected elements attract attention and make a person focus on advertising. You can search for associations with the help of visual images. In Google, Flickr, Pinterest, a search is set by the word of interest. The result is an expansion of the range of creative solutions and inspiration for their development.

Association types

• By adjacency, that is, in proximity, in neighborhood in space or in time, when one representation causes another in the mind, due to their temporal or spatial coincidence. Most often, this proximity is natural, for example: a beehive - bees, a bear - winter - a lair, winter - frost - snow ... But sometimes there is no natural connection between the ideas, and the association arises because once there was an accidental coincidence of the perception of objects. For example, when you hear a particular piece of music, you remember the person you met with the same piece of music. The whole habitual train of thought, assimilated by memory, is due to nothing more than an association by contiguity. The words of a poem, trigonometric formulas, historical events, the properties of material objects - all these are certain systems or groups of objects for us, which are interconnected due to countless repetitions in a certain sequence, of which each calls to mind an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe others.
• By similarity, in likeness, that is, similar in some way: in shape, in color, in perception, in function ... For example: a ball is a watermelon, a lemon is lemonade, snow is cotton wool ... This sign is not always significant, which leads to quite original associations. An example is the situation described by A.P. Chekhov in a story about a man whose surname "Ovsov" was associated as "horse" ("Horse surname")
• By contrast, that is, the opposite in some properties. This type of association is the most complex, is relatively rare and is more typical for people with non-standard thinking. For example: good - evil, mountain - plain, mountain - gorge, sparks - snowflakes ...

Focal object method

If the features of other, randomly selected objects are transferred to the object being improved, then the number of unexpected solutions will increase sharply. This idea served as the basis for the method of activating creativity proposed in 1926 by Professor F. Kunze of the University of Berlin (catalog method) and improved in the 1950s by the American inventor C. Whiting (method of focal objects).

The focal object method gives good results when searching for new modifications of known methods and devices. In addition, it can be used to train the imagination (exercises like: come up with a fantastic animal, plant, ship, etc.).

The essence of the method is to transfer the features of randomly selected objects to the object being improved, which lies, as it were, in the focus of the transfer.

Apply the focal object method in the following order:

1. Selecting a focal object (for example, a clock).
2. Selection of three or four random objects (they are taken at random from a dictionary, catalog, technical magazine, etc. For example, a movie, a snake, a box office, a pole).
3. Compilation of lists of attributes of random objects (for example, cinema: widescreen, sound, color, three-dimensional, etc.).
4. Generation of ideas by attaching the features of random objects to the focal object (for example, widescreen clocks, sound clocks, volumetric clocks, etc.).
5. The development of the resulting combinations through free associations (for example, widescreen watches: instead of a narrow dial, a wide one is taken; there may be a narrow dial, which sometimes stretches into a wide one, is projected somewhere ... etc.).
6. Evaluation of the received ideas and selection of useful solutions (it is advisable to entrust the assessment to an expert or a group of experts, and then jointly select the necessary solutions).

Method "Garland of associations and metaphors"

G.Ya Bush in the book "Dialogic and Creativity" offers a creative technique, which he called the "Garland of Associations". Its purpose is to facilitate the search for a solution with a lack of information. The use of chains (garlands) of associations and metaphors allows you to make a transition to a new field of knowledge, to interpret various aspects of the problem in a new way. In this case, the associative memory of the person who is looking for solutions acts as a kind of information fund.

Stages of the "garland of associations" method

1. Definition of synonyms for an object and the formation of the first garland from them - a garland of synonyms.

2. Arbitrary selection of random objects. Quite arbitrarily, in any way, for example, from memory or from an encyclopedic dictionary, several nouns are chosen, which do not even have to denote technical objects. From the selected words they form a second garland - a garland of random objects.

3. Compilation of combinations of elements of a garland of synonyms and a garland of random objects. The combination is made up of two elements, connecting in series each synonym of the object under consideration with each random object.

4. Compilation of a list of features of random objects. Determine their characteristics. In this case, it is necessary to determine the largest possible number of features within a limited time, for example, in two or three minutes. The success of the search largely depends on the breadth of coverage of features of random objects. Therefore, it is advisable to list both the main and secondary, insignificant signs. For convenience, you can create a table of features.

5. Generation of ideas by successively attaching to the original object and its synonyms the features of randomly selected objects. Similarly, a list of new constructions is formed, obtained by alternately adding to the garland of synonyms for signs of other random objects.

6. Generation of garlands of associations. From the signs of random objects identified in the fourth step, garlands of free associations are generated. For each individual feature, garlands can be of almost unlimited length, so generation should be limited in time or in the number of garland elements. If the generation of a garland of associations is carried out in a team, then each of its members does this independently.

7. Generating new ideas. To the elements of the garland of synonyms of the original object, one by one, they try to attach elements of the garlands of associations. At this step, the question is decided whether there are a sufficient number of original and tempting ideas among the combinations of synonyms of the original object with elements of association garlands. If, according to a preliminary assessment, there are few such ideas, you can continue to form garlands of associations, starting with some new element of the garlands created in the sixth step.

8. Evaluation and selection of rational options for ideas. Generating new options for solving problems in the previous steps usually gives a fairly large set of options. Among the many irrational, trivial and even ridiculous ideas, as a rule, there will always be original and rational ones. The selection of options is recommended to be carried out in several stages. First, clearly irrational options are crossed out, then original ones of dubious usefulness are selected, but attracting with their unexpectedness. It is advisable to study the list of such options with the involvement of experts or a creative team. The list of rational solutions includes options that best meet the goals and requirements of production.

9. The selection of the best option from the rational ones is carried out in different ways. The method of expert assessments is very simple and effective.

Examples of using associations and metaphors in advertising

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Story

Free association method or the associative experiment was first used by Francis Galton and Wilhelm Wundt in the 80s of the 19th century for the purpose of research mental processes. At the beginning of the twentieth century, E. Kraepelin, Z. Freud and K. Jung began to use it in psychiatry to study the unconscious. The essence of the method in this case consisted in a quick spontaneous response to the first word that came to mind to the presented “word-stimulus”. The universality of associative processes was the reason for the applied application of this method in the 70s of the twentieth century in management, business, advertising and inventive creativity.

Method functions

1. The method of associations can be an effective way to creatively solve problems and find new solutions, as well as be used to identify all possible features and properties of the object under study.
2. It can be considered as a heuristic technique used to get rid of traditional, stereotyped connections, loosen stereotypes, develop a completely new look at the problem and achieve originality, freshness, and unexpectedness of ideas and solutions.
3. The method of associations acts as a way of expanding the semantic space of the problem, obtaining unexpected images, concepts and meanings, highlighting new opportunities.
4. The method acts as a way to awaken fantasy and imagination, to activate creative thinking in solving various applied problems.

WITH essence and purpose of the method

The essence of the method is to find as many distant and unexpected associations as possible to the object or problem under consideration and create new links between these associations and the original object.
The creation of semantic links between the problem and the associative object found in a different way (concept, image, feeling, phenomenon or process) is a means of discernment and finding an analogy that contains a creative idea.
The application of the method makes it possible to break old ties, destroy stereotypes, highlight new contests and thereby build a bridge to analogies, which are powerful generators of new ideas.
It is the analogies found with the help of associative links that contain the strongest, freshest and most unexpected solutions.

Methodological and theoretical foundations of the method

Fundamental Principles
1. The principle of universal communication, commonality and unity of all objects and phenomena of the world. Everything is connected to everything. Associative links are global in nature and arise between any objects that have any common features. Any word is capable of generating in the mind an infinite system of connections and relationships.
2. The principle of universality the main laws and structures of creativity. Creative mechanisms and principles of work of one sphere of activity are transferred to another.
3. The principle of inexhaustibility and the infinite wealth of the world. The world is wider, richer and more diverse than we see and what it seems to us. The word - stimulus generates in our minds an unlimited system of connections, awakens the most diverse and unexpected images.
4. The principle of pragmatism. The whole world appears as a resource: everything can be useful, we have the entire Universe at our disposal.
5. The principle of unity of the conscious with the unconscious, subconscious creative activity. Associations are ways of spontaneous generation of the contents of the unconscious, bridges, zones of transition between conscious and subconscious processes. Associative thinking is carried out with disconnected or delayed logical analysis.

Theoretical Foundations
Association is understood as a reflection in the human mind of the relationship between objects of reality and mental representations, concepts, sensations, perceptions, experiences, motor acts, in which one representation of an object gives rise to another, similar to it.
stimulus object any objects of the surrounding world can be used to generate associations: randomly selected words, symbols, pictures, melodies.
At the internal, mental level, associations are understood as connections between individual representations, in which one of the representations causes another, and at the psychophysiological level, as a conditioned reflex.
Associations appear without active perception, spontaneously and without logical evaluation.
The strength, originality and brightness of associations depends on wealth inner peace person, experience, orientation and his individual characteristics.
Discovery and establishment of new associative links.
In the process of the origin of associations, extraordinary relationships are established between the object being improved or the problem being solved and randomly selected elements of the external world and the internal world, including the content of EXPERIENCE. When opening or creating new associative links, the consciousness and subconsciousness of a person begins to generate new ideas.
The very process of discovery and birth of new associative links and finding new analogies leads to the creation of original ideas and creative solutions to the problem.
Thus, the following creative chain is created: a problem or an object being improved - a word found with the help of free associations - the discovery of a connection between the problem and this word - the creation of an analogy - the birth of an original idea.
Creativity is understood as linking distant phenomena, concepts and meanings, activities, different worlds and spheres of reality.
At the same time, walking on the basis of the created connections of useful functional analogies allows you to transfer the principles of work, successful methods of action and methods of solving problems from familiar worlds to newly discovered ones.

Ways to Create Associations

1. Free association are created by a spontaneous response to the presented word without any semantic or grammatical restrictions.
At the same time, associations can be expressed by any part of speech: a noun, an adjective, a verb, as well as an experience, an image, a symbol.
2. Directed or controlled associations limited by certain predetermined conditions.
An example the latter is an instruction that prescribes the creation of associations by contrast, words of a certain part of speech (nouns or adjectives), symbols, colors, celebrity names, etc.

Associations can be generated using the following techniques:
a) an association word is instantly given to the stimulus-word,
b) associations are generated and grouped around the central stimulus word,
c) associations are generated in the form of a stream and line up in the form of a chain in which one association freely generates another.

In the practice of activating creative problem solving, the ways of generating associations are presented as:
1. Generating a set of associations in response to one stimulus word.
This technique is reminiscent of "Mind Mapping", the mapping of the mind or the creation of intellectual diagrams. A randomly chosen word or object being improved is kept in the focus of attention, and at the same time all association words associated with this object are freely generated.
For example: Phone - waves, computer, music, art, hand, light, heat, vibrations, jacket, world, artificial intelligence, circuit, energy, weapons, robot ...
2. Representations of a chain of associations, in which the stimulus word generates a sequence of associated words-associations, each of which generates another.
For example: Phone-connection-relationship-love-rose-velvet-heat-lamp-sun-life-health... (The phone-health link can serve as a source of a number of original and powerful solutions to improve the device).
Association generation forms:
1. Individual.
2. Group - in which each member of the group makes up their own "clouds" and "chains" of associations that serve as material for a common, mutually enriched pool of associations, ideas and solutions.

Method Rules

1. The proposed keyword is a stimulus, it should preferably be a noun and evoke some kind of image.
2. It is necessary to create an atmosphere of spontaneity, play, humor and creativity, conducive to the generation of a rapid flow of free associations among the participants.
3. Criticism at the stage of generating associations should be prohibited.
4. Associations should be figurative, bright, distant, bold, and their change should take place quickly, flexibly and swiftly.
5. It is necessary to write down everything that comes to mind with criticality and logical analysis turned off.
6. All associations and ideas must be recorded.

Procedure and main milestones

1. Formulate and write down the problem on the board. You can select a keyword that expresses the essence of the problem. The word object being improved or keywords specific to the object being improved.
2. Define a list, a cloud, a chain of associative words and writes down all associations in a notebook or on a blackboard.
At the same time, each member of the group creates:
A) A group of words associated with the stimulus keyword (3 min).
b) A chain of words, in which each word is an association to the previous one (3 min).
3. Consistently combine keyword, with all the words, starting with those remote in meaning and standing at the end of the row.
4. Based on analogies, created by each link and subsequent transfer of properties, forms and principles of work from an associative object to a key one, to generate new ideas and solutions.
5. Systematize and evaluate received ideas and solutions and choose the best of them.

Advantages

1. The method of free association is one of the simplest and at the same time the most effective methods for generating new ideas.
2. The process of implementing the method is accompanied by positive emotions, activates creative thinking, awakens the imagination and imagination of the participants.
3. The application of the method loosens stereotypes, helps to overcome the inertia of thinking, significantly expands the search field and contributes to the generation of fresh, original and unexpected ideas and solutions.

Restrictions

The success of the method largely depends on the competence of the facilitator, who is able to create an atmosphere of spontaneity, play and creativity. Otherwise, participants suggest stereotypical associations that cannot be the source of original ideas.

The method of associations is closely related to the methods of bisociations, analogies, metaphors, random word and forced connections.

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annotation scientific article on sociological sciences, author of scientific work - Ivanova Nina Anatolyevna

The article discusses the theoretical and practical aspects of the application free association method as one of empirical methods for sociological research. It has a number of advantages over other methods: ease of use, obtaining a significant amount of data, the possibility of quantitative and qualitative interpretation of the results, applicability to the study of new and little-studied issues. Use free association method in sociology has a number of differences from its application in psychology, linguistics, interdisciplinary research and various areas of practical activity. Russian sociologists, using the associative approach, study, for example, the image of a territory, public opinion, electoral preferences, the effectiveness of the implementation of social programs in the perception of the population, factors of migration processes. Practice of application free association method for a sociological survey in the form of a questionnaire is considered on specific example- study of migration moods of residents of the Magadan region. The association question made it possible to establish the main types of associations, which include: geographical location; climate; nature; People; Natural resources; past; social and economic problems; everyday life. Correlations have been established between the type of respondents' associations, emotional connotation and age. Practical recommendations are given for the use free association method V empirical sociological research.

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Free association method in empirical sociological research

The article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of the free association method. It has a number of advantages over other methods: it is easy to use, intended to obtain a significant amount of data, quantitative and qualitative interpretation of the results, applicability to the study of new and insufficiently investigating issues.Application of free association method in sociology has some differences compared with its application in psychology, linguistics, interdisciplinary studies, and its practical application. By using an associative approach, Russian sociologists examine, for example, an image of a territory, public opinion , electoral preferences, migration factors, and effectiveness of social program implementation from the point of view of people.The article focuses on revealing migration attitudes of people in Magadan region as an example of the practical application of free association method in a sociological survey. The associative question allowed to establish the main types of associations which include: geographical location, climate, nature, people, natural resources, history, social and economic problems, everyday life.The survey revealed correlation between the type of respondents' associations , emotional connotation and their age. Practical recommendations on application of free association method in empirical sociological research are proposed.

The artist Nikolai Ge reproduced in detail the baroque interior of the room of the Monplaisir Palace, having visited it only once. The secret of the master's photographic memory, he said, was to "depict every day from memory what you met on the way, be it light, be it form, be it expression, be it a scene - everything that stopped your attention." T&P publishes an excerpt from Denis Bukin and Alpina Publisher's bestseller "Memory development according to the methods of special services" on how to use associations to remember more and better.

Not only recognized geniuses have an outstanding memory. In one experiment, subjects, ordinary people, were shown 10,000 slides, after which they checked how many of them were remembered. It turned out that the accuracy of image recognition was about 80% - a very high result. If unusual, bright and colorful pictures were chosen for the experiment, the recognition accuracy increased to almost 100%.

1) the main problem human memory is not about remembering information, but about remembering and reproducing it when necessary. Thus, every person has the makings of an excellent memory. To develop them, you need to master a number of techniques.

2) The human brain remembers images very well. Therefore, most of the methods of memorizing information - mnemonics - are based on imagination, which serves as a tool for translating abstract verbal and digital information into visual information.

Three principles of mnemonics

There are many different mnemonics, but they all follow three principles.

Using Associations

The fundamental property of the psyche is associativity. The brain is a perfect machine for building connections between different images and concepts. The contents of memory are long, complexly organized chains of associations. It is worth remembering Christmas and New Year, and a decorated Christmas tree, champagne and Olivier salad, the smell of tangerines and congratulations pop up in my memory. If a person is tuned in to childhood memories, the tree will remind you of a matinee in kindergarten with Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden, gifts and a festive costume. The pragmatist will sink into the sadness of counting expenses. The believer will remember the gospel story about the birth of Jesus Christ.

You already know that the secret of a good memory is not so much in remembering, but in extracting information. What is remembered is more likely to be preserved if it is tied to what is already known. By the chain of associations, it will be easy to remember at the right time. From this follows the first principle of mnemonics: in order to remember something, associate it with something that is familiar to you, that you can easily remember.

Encoding information with images

You already know the importance of imagination for a good memory. Pictures are easier to remember than words and numbers. Hence the second principle of mnemonics: convert into pictures what you need to remember. The first and second principles of mnemonics are used together. Suppose you need to remember exactly and for a long time the code of the automatic cell of the locker intended for secret communication: 855411. Perhaps you will need this code in a few years.

Present the numbers in the form of pictures (the principle of coding through visual images) and link the pictures together (the principle of associations). The number 8 looks like a large woman, 5 looks like a circus bicycle with one wheel and a steering wheel-seat, 4 looks like a chair, 1 looks like a broom. A woman (8) rides two circus bicycles (55). One is not enough for her, because she is heavy. To keep these bicycles together, she tied them to a chair (4) on which she sits. But bicycles are still unicycles, and she keeps her balance like a tightrope walker, with the help of two brooms (11). She goes, of course, to the station, in the building of which there is a left-luggage office. Imagine this picture vividly, and the code will not be erased from your memory.

A little advice: it is better if the images can be seen not only. They will be more memorable if they sound, have texture, smell, taste. Remember Shereshevsky with his synesthetic perception. If you imagine a tree, imagine it in detail: it is spreading, with young tender foliage, smells of fresh greenery, with rough warm bark, on which droplets of sticky bitter resin glisten.

Emotional attitude

A person saves his strength and does not like to do extra work. The brain prioritizes tasks to complete based on the strength of the emotions associated with them. A predator that poses a direct threat causes fear - you need to fight with it or you need to run away from it. Strong thirst causes anxiety and makes you look for water. The smell of rotten food causes disgust, which protects against possible poisoning. Events associated with strong emotions make you learn: avoid the paths of predators, remember the way to a water source, beware of spoiled food.

Emotions activate memory. If you ask ordinary person to name the events that happened to him a few years ago, most likely, he will remember the most important milestones of his life: the birth of children, meeting or parting with a life partner, moving, changing jobs, bright travels. All these events caused powerful emotions and therefore remembered. Everything else, as a rule, is erased from memory as something ordinary, of no interest. In other words, you only remember what you need to remember and what you really care about.

The third principle of mnemonics: form an emotional attitude to the memorized information. Do you remember the locker code from the previous paragraph? Why do you think? Partly because you were surprised or confused by the absurdity of the described comic picture of a woman riding unicycles tied to a chair and trying to balance with two brooms. You will study mnemonic tricks. Do not be confused by their absurdity, it is good because it evokes emotions in you, which means that it allows you to reliably remember and quickly reproduce what you remember.

Associations

The associations we use to remember can be very different.

1) Similarity in appearance, function, spelling or sound. Reasons for similarity can be:

The number 8 looks like a large woman, glasses or an infinity sign;

The plane flies, and in this it is like a bird, a parachute and a kite;

The term "catalyst" refers to a substance that accelerates the flow chemical reaction, can be remembered with the help of the words "rolled" and "congestion": after the addition of the catalyst, the reaction "rolled without congestion."

2) Opposition on some basis: light and dark, salty and sweet, male and female.

3) The relationship of cause and effect. Clouds bring rain. The fire gets warmer. You can slip on a banana peel.

4) Adjacency in space and time. Kremlin in Moscow. Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg. Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance.

The long coat and hat are strongly associated with espionage in modern culture (although true spies prefer not to stand out and rarely wear extravagant cloaks). History confirms how important associations are for remembering. Many ancient texts: epics, legends, scientific treatises and collections of medical prescriptions - were created in poetic form. Meter, rhyme, consonances and repetitions - these associations between words helped our ancestors to memorize huge texts.

There is one pattern in the development of memory: the more a person knows, the easier it is for him to remember. It is easier for the owner of an extensive system of knowledge to weave new data into it - to connect them with what he already knows. Psychologists sometimes use a beautiful metaphor to describe how a person learns something new. At first, when he first gets acquainted with the subject, he seems to be planting a young tree. After some time, the seedling takes root, its roots become stronger and deeper - the amount of knowledge increases, they are systematized. A rooted seedling can feed better and grow faster. A person who has laid a systematic foundation in the study of a new subject will more easily add new information to it and remember them better. The main conclusion to draw from this is: do not be afraid to take on something new. At first it will be difficult, but then, when you get used to it, it will become easier, and you will be able to achieve the desired result. No two missions are the same for a scout.

Exercise

The ability to quickly select associations, connect a variety of things with their help, is an integral part of any mnemonics. You can develop it with constant practice. Often associate pairs of objects that catch your eye. How to tie a doorknob and a paper clip? Maybe they are similar in their curved shape? Or maybe you could melt down a box of paper clips to make a pen? Or just attach a paper clip to the doorknob?

Word lists

The ability to memorize lists of words is a significant stage in the development of memory. First, it's effective. You can impress your friends by repeating the 40 words dictated to you from the first to the last. Secondly, it will allow you to memorize the to-do list for the day, the agenda of the meeting, and the plan for your speech. A scout who can memorize word lists remembers passwords, legends, scenarios of operations, contacts the right people. Facts are strung on words, comparing which you can find connections between seemingly independent events. There are two main techniques for memorizing a list of words: the story method and the place method. You will master and be able to use both of them. However, perhaps you will like one of them more, and you will just get acquainted with the other. Decide for yourself.

story method

For example, you are given a list of words:

oil;
table;
taxi driver;
coffee;
cipher;
tree;
balcony.

History could be like this. You are in a dark port tavern. Outside, the sea roars, the horns of ships and the screams of porters are heard. By the window there is a barrel of oil - a rusty piece of iron exudes a sharp, unpleasant smell of fuel oil. The barrel is covered with a round wooden shield. Behind her, as at a table, sits a sad taxi driver in a corduroy jacket and drinks black coffee. He is driving, and therefore rum, the usual drink of the tavern, is not available to him. The smell of coffee mixes with the smell of fuel oil. The taxi driver must pick up the passenger from the port, but he cannot, because the passenger's last name is encrypted and he does not know the cipher. The taxi driver looks sullenly at the yellowish sheet with the abracadabra printed on it. But then you receive an SMS message that the key to the cipher is on a tree at the entrance to the tavern. Surprised, you show the message to the taxi driver and run outside with him. The taxi driver tries to climb the tree, but to no avail - the trunk is smooth and slippery. Therefore, he goes up to the second floor of the tavern, goes out to the balcony, from there he climbs a tree and takes the envelope with the key.

Imagine a story? Now repeat the list of words. Try doing it in reverse. Happened? Note that all three principles of mnemonics are used here. The story itself is a series of associations. The words are encoded in vivid images: a rusty smelly barrel, soft velveteen, bitter black coffee, a yellowed sheet of paper, etc. The participants in the story experience emotions: the taxi driver is sad, you are surprised by an unexpected message, and everything ends with a happy ending.

Exercises

1) Remember the geography of the place where you live. If your city has a subway, memorize its map. Each branch is a list of stations. Make sure you can repeat the station names in any order. Remember all the branches in sequence. Over time, you will be able to navigate the subway solely from memory. Similarly, you can remember the sequence of streets, bus stops, etc. This can be useful when you need to break away from outdoor surveillance or use a legend.

2) Open the book on any page and memorize the first word on each line. If you come across a preposition, a particle or part of a word left after the transfer, take the second word. Memorize the words, close the book using the bookmark. Play the list and check yourself.

Images of abstract concepts

Usually it is not a problem to imagine images of things and objects. By saying "cup", you see your favorite cup, which has a shape, color and weight. "Road" will conjure up a familiar stretch of road. But what to do with abstract concepts that do not have a substantive embodiment, such as "consent", "obligation" or "suggestion"? There are two methods of recoding such concepts into images. The first is based on consonance. You choose a word or words that sound similar to the one you want to remember. Then you encode exactly this consonant word into an image.

The second technique uses symbolic imagination: you pick up a specific image-symbol intuitively, so that it expresses an abstract concept. This symbol may be generally accepted, or it may be clear only to you. "Consent" is reminiscent of voices sounding in unison. The image of the choir is easy to imagine visually. "Obligation" is consonant with the convoy, which must be dragged along like a load of obligations. "Suggestion" can be imagined as a high snowdrift - the first three first letters are often enough to build an association.

If you want to use symbols, "agreement" can be thought of as a firm handshake. Or like an Egyptian obelisk in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. A "commitment" can be presented in the form of an official document with a seal. "Suggestion" can be symbolized by a variety hypnotist in a turban and a raincoat with a red lining. Associations and symbols are very individual. For a connoisseur of the Middle Ages, the word "suggestion" is associated with the name of Abbot Suger, who lived in the 11th-12th centuries and is known as the customer of the Gothic church of Saint-Denis in the suburbs of Paris. The wider the horizons of a person, the easier it is for him to select associations and memorize new things.

Exercise

Take a glossary of terms for a field of knowledge unfamiliar to you: technology, philosophy or psychology. Open it at random and choose images for the words you encounter using phonetic and symbolic associations.

Phrase memorization

The ability to quickly memorize lists of words and come up with visual stories opens up the possibility of remembering larger amounts of information, in particular phrases and fragments of text. For example, you are instructed before a new task and you need to remember the password: "Zakhar Borisovich ordered to convey that the cranes will be next week." One of the options for the history of such a password would be like this. Leopold Sacher-Masoch (he wrote The Woman in Furs, so he is wearing a fur coat) stands embracing the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. Of course, both have an imperious look, because they both enjoyed power (though each in their own way). Sacher-Masoch hands you a bunch of construction cranes. The cranes are wrapped in a schedule for their delivery - a large sheet of a calendar on which the second line is painted over - next week. Now try to forget this phrase.

Exercise

Come up with visual stories for proverbs, sayings and catchphrases you know.

Memorization of foreign words

Training in intelligence schools foreign languages put on stream. For experienced teachers, there are no incompetent students. A scout is selected according to his mental abilities, and teaching him to speak fluently and without an accent in any language is a matter of technology. At the initial stage of learning a language, a student needs to memorize pairs of words, and one of the words is known (on mother tongue), another - no (in a foreign language). Use the following algorithm.

1) A well-known word in the native language is encoded using an image. You are familiar with this technique from the method of stories.

2) The second, unknown word is easier to encode through phonetic similarity: pick up one or more words in the native language so that together they are consonant with the foreign one.

3) Connect in one story the image of the word in the native language with the images of words consonant with the foreign language.

For example, you need to remember the English word "habit" - a habit. It is consonant with the name of one of the peoples in the works of Tolkien, the hobbits. To remember the pair “habit - habit”, you can imagine a hobbit from a fairy tale, leading a measured lifestyle, not deviating from his habits. More compound word- remuneration, reward. To memorize the correct transcription, it is quite acceptable to replace the Russian "remuneration". How can it be remembered? "Young people go to Rome with a salary." This phrase helps to remember half of the English word and its Russian translation. With practice, you will learn how to quickly create such stories, which means memorizing at least 50–70 foreign words in one lesson.

Exercise

Buy a small dictionary of 500-1000 of the most common words in a language you have long dreamed of learning. Using the described technique, you will memorize them pretty quickly, and this will be a good start to fulfilling your dreams.

Motivation to remember

A person's motives and needs have a great influence on memory. It will be difficult for you to remember the regulations for laying railroad tracks, because you do not need this information. But a railroad engineer who uses regulations every day remembers them all without much effort. A person remembers better what he needs in everyday life. The brain saves effort by highlighting the really important information from the total mass of information received. Therefore practical recommendation: before memorizing something, formulate for yourself why you need to remember it and what you will get by knowing it.

Similarly, if you want someone to remember your request, set them up to remember. Get him interested. Indicate when, under what conditions, the request should be recalled. For example, if you want a neighbor to put your letter in the mailbox, tell him: “Vasya, you will pass by the post office - remember my request, throw this letter into the mailbox. I will be very grateful to you." The words “when you will” will help a person remember the request at the right time. The promise of gratitude will serve as an additional emotional stimulus to Vasya.

Needs and motives sometimes play tricks on memory. Its mechanism was described by the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. A person's desire for emotional comfort often makes him forget information that may be unpleasant. Freud called this phenomenon repression. If you keep forgetting to meet a particular person, although this rarely happens with other people, take a closer look at the situation. Perhaps communicating with this person causes emotional discomfort. It is hard to imagine that someone would forget to call a generous friend and ask him for money. But the debtor often forgets to call the creditor to ask for a deferred payment.

forgetting curve

IN late XIX century, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus built a forgetting curve showing how long once remembered information is stored in memory. Ebbinghaus asked subjects to memorize meaningless three-letter syllables. With mechanical memorization, that is, when a person does not understand the meaning of the material and does not use mnemonics, after an hour only 44% of the information remains in memory, and after a week - less than 25%. Fortunately, with conscious memorization, information is forgotten much more slowly.

Most of the information is forgotten in the first hours after memorization. What to do with it? Further experiments showed that when the learned material is repeated, the rate of forgetting decreases. The more repetitions, the stronger the information is remembered. Practical conclusions can be drawn from experiments to determine the rate of forgetting. One of them is that the practice of memorizing something at a time is inefficient. It is better to memorize voluminous information in several approaches, allocating time for repetition. If one day is allotted for memorization, the following will be the optimal repetition mode:

the first - 15–20 minutes after memorization;
the second - after 6-8 hours;
the third - after 24 hours.

It is better to repeat information actively: not to read or listen a second time, but to try to extract from memory and peep at the source. If you happen to take more time to memorize the information, repeat it like this:

the first time - on the day of memorization;
the second - on the fourth day;
the third - on the seventh day.

If the amount of information is large, it is better to repeat it with varying degrees of detail. The first time - in full, the second - the key points, the third - the entire amount of information in a different grouping or in a different order. The more thoroughly you process it, the more firmly you remember it. Three repetitions is the bare minimum. When an illegal scout memorizes a legend, he repeats it hundreds of times and subsequently returns to it regularly, refreshing his memory. After all, his life depends on it.

Photos: ©iStock/bogdandreava.