Mechanical memory - what is it in psychology and how is it characterized?

For many years, debates have continued in psychology about the importance of mechanical memory in human life. Some consider it to be too primitive a form, working within the framework of the first signaling system (which is also present in some animals). Others are inclined to consider it the basis without which it would be difficult to master certain types of material that is not subject to logic and comprehension. One way or another, without it, it really can be difficult at certain moments, and therefore its development should be given no less attention than all other types of memory.

Mechanical memory in psychology

The ability to remember and tell information, the meaning of which a person does not understand, is called mechanical memory. Students nicknamed this method “cramming,” since the material is imprinted into the head through repeated repetition, while the meaning of what has been memorized fades into the background. This type of memory is based on association by contiguity, that is, the sequence of information and the order of elements relative to each other are remembered. If suddenly one of them falls out, it will be very difficult to complete the chain.

A person with developed mechanical memory can have an average intellectual level. Words are remembered exactly in the form in which a person sees or hears them. If an error has crept into the text being memorized, it will remain during playback.

Interesting facts about memory

Thanks to memory, a person uses experience every day: his own and his ancestors. However, logical and mechanical memory are complex mechanisms that have their own nuances.

• A person begins to use memory already in the womb; it begins to work 20 weeks after conception. The embryo even reacts to the noise of the ultrasound test. Scientists are of the opinion that a person can remember everything that happened to him not only in childhood, but even in the womb.
• Memory is individual, as it is influenced by many factors. For example, some have better developed visual memory, others have better auditory memory. Information that is interesting to a person is remembered best. But the ability to remember can always be trained.
• Age does not always mean memory decline. You can often hear complaints about poor memory from older people. But this is not entirely true, the whole point is that by adulthood a person stops learning, the skill of straining his memory disappears, and it does not train at all. For example, actors who have spent their entire lives learning new roles can cope with voluminous texts in their old age without any problems. This once again proves that memory development depends only on training, and not on age.
• The habit of forgetting is also present in humans. After all, it is impossible to remember everything, and the ability to forget is a real salvation for the human brain. Memory itself regulates the load, freeing the head from unnecessary information or impressions. But this does not mean at all that old information is completely erased; the data simply moves from the active stage to the passive stage, from where, if desired, it can be retrieved.

Memory can always be improved by training, taking vitamins and eating right.

Features of mechanical memory

Human short-term memory - what it is, its volume and problems

In preschoolers and children in elementary school, mechanical memory may predominate, but when moving to high school, the child must master meaningful memorization.

Mechanical memory:

• Has limited volume. A high school student needs to absorb a huge amount of information on different subjects. Memorizing mechanically will lead to having to spend a lot of time on lessons and to chronic fatigue;
• Not plastic. As information is memorized and reproduced, it is quite difficult to correct errors;
• Short-term. Once the material is told, it is quickly forgotten. Whereas verbal logical memory often retains what is learned for life;
• With its help, not only words are remembered, but also movements, sounds, and smells. Animals also have such memory;
• It can be congenital (children with good mechanical memory are able to recite long poems by heart at 2 years old) or acquired;
• Requires volitional efforts and is reinforced through repeated repetitions.

Cramming

Logical memory

Phenomenal memory - what is it, methods for developing information memorization

It is impossible to talk about mechanical memory without mentioning another type and its opposite - logical memory. In this case, the information is analyzed, divided into important and unimportant, and the meaning is revealed, which is easily learned after preliminary work. This method of memorizing and reproducing information requires fewer repetitions. In the process of defining logical connections, drawings, lists and diagrams appear that were not in the original version.

Important! Information learned logically can be formulated in a new way each time. Only the meaning remains unchanged.

What is verbal-logical or verbal memory?

The main component of verbal memory is thoughts, thought processes, understanding of the phenomena being studied, analysis of judgments, the ability to draw conclusions, work with other people’s statements and thoughts heard from someone.
As is already clear from the name, this type of memory consists of two components - logical and verbal. The logical component, in contrast to the mechanical one, with the help of which a person remembers only the external data of an object/text, is aimed at understanding the meaning of the subject or topic being studied. Logical memory always involves mental work, in which the material is not simply memorized mechanically, but is preliminarily analyzed, broken down into logical fragments, from which important and secondary ones are then separated, relationships are built between all fragments, and thus the essence of the entire volume to be memorized is learned.

The result of any human mental activity is the verbal formulation of conclusions (it is impossible to convey thoughts without language) - it is also the verbal component of verbal memory. This component will not always be an exact copy of the source material, but rather will reflect only its meaning. That is, a person can explain the essence of the question in his own words, without memorizing a book answer. On the special educational resource “iClub”, anyone can test and train all existing types of memory. The site's materials are developed on the basis of scientific theories by experts in the field of psychology and teaching, and are presented in a playful way, especially interesting for children.

Verbal memory is formed on three other types - motor, figurative and emotional, but at the same time it is the main one, and only the degree of development of adjacent types of memory will depend on it. She plays a leading role in the assimilation of any knowledge.

The degree of development of verbal-logical memory is a litmus test of a person’s erudition, the level of his training, and the quality of knowledge. The learning of any schoolchild is ensured by verbal-logical memory, so its capabilities must be used as fully as possible, which means that the comprehensive development of verbal-logical memory is important. The more it is applied in life, the more successful a person’s activities become. An excellent memory, of course, cannot replace a brilliant mind, but it will become a reliable assistant in solving problems of any complexity. Developed memory greatly reduces the time it takes to perform any mental operation.

Comparison of mechanical and logical memory

Eidetic memory - what does it mean in psychology, examples

Mechanical - relies on 1 signal system, is based on repetition, only the external form is remembered, the wording cannot be changed. If the material is not repeated, it is quickly forgotten.

Logical memory is characterized by working within the framework of a second signal system, relying on the first. Memorization occurs by building logical connections, its goal is to preserve and reproduce the meaning. For this purpose, information analysis and search for the main and secondary are used. It remains in memory for a long time, sometimes for life.

Productivity

Logical memory is much more productive than mechanical memory. The explanation for this fact is simple - logical memory is based on numerous and diverse connections. It has been scientifically proven that information that remains in the head through logical memorization is retained much better than exactly the same information, but learned through rote memory.

This is interesting: as practice shows, material that was learned using logical memory can be retained for life, without subsequent repetitions. But mechanically learned information is forgotten very quickly; remains in the head for a long time only with regular repetitions. The study of logical and mechanical memory continues to this day, because the capabilities of the brain have not yet been 100% explored.

Training and development

From two to five years of age, a child has a fertile period for improving mechanical memory. During this period of time, it is necessary to read good children's poems to him and teach them together.

Important! You can improve your mechanical memory by mastering foreign languages ​​and memorizing poetic texts. You need to memorize formulas and scientific terms, historical dates and statistical data, product lists, telephone numbers and addresses, geographical names, numbers, first names and patronymics.

Scientists have proven that a person forgets the most information in the first 2 hours after cramming. If you study before bed, much less material will be erased from memory, since during the night's rest it moves from short-term to long-term memory and is then easier to reproduce.

Mechanical memory, according to experts, is the basis for successful learning.

Interest in studying

Exercises for children

1. Cascade. An adult reads a list of words. If the child repeats easily, the list increases by one more.
2. The parent slowly sounds out 10 words. Children draw them with their fingers on the table, then remember them.
3. The child carefully examines the surroundings, then turns away and lists the objects.
4. An adult draws a simple composition of figures or a pattern on a sheet of paper. Children watch for one minute, then reproduce it from memory in their notebooks.
5. Several different objects or pictures are placed on the table surface. The child looks carefully, then turns away. An adult changes something in the position or completely confuses it. The children's task is to put everything in its place.
6. The teacher reads the words, inviting the children to illustrate them using poses, sounds or gestures, then the children try to remember the list.

Repeat text

For an adult, working with text memorization will help increase the volume of mechanical memory. To begin with, you can choose a short passage and try to retell it. Over time, you need to repeat the entire passage, then take 2 texts, increasing the number of characters.

Remembering names

The volume of a person's short-term memory is strongly related to mechanical capabilities. The name of the person just introduced is forgotten because the communication process replaces old information in short-term memory with new information. To remember the name of a friend, you need to pronounce it loudly and clearly, think about how it is similar to its owner.

You can develop mechanical memory more effectively if you follow simple rules:

• Do not take too much information at once, learn in parts;
• Repeat the material at regular intervals;
• Use mnemonics;
• After an hour of work, rest for 15 minutes;
• Diversify the material.

Examples of the use of mechanical memory

Scientists talk about the enormous importance of verbal logical memory - this is the ability to accurately reproduce the meaning of what you read in your own words. It is so significant because, by choosing the main thing, it does not overload the brain with unimportant details, allows you to learn faster and ensures long-term storage. However, it is impossible to do without mechanical memory in a number of cases.

Rote memory helps you learn languages

1. When learning foreign languages, you need to know how a new word is spelled and how it sounds. Mechanical memory helps to cope with this successfully until a relationship arises between auditory and visual perception.
2. With its help, you can remember simple physical exercises.
3. It allows you to master scientific terms and geographical names.
4. Participates in memorizing poems. If poems are left with only meaning, they will lose rhyme and form. Mechanical memory allows you to remember the order of words.
5. Helps memorize numbers (learn the multiplication table for a schoolchild) or material that an individual does not want or cannot understand with all his might, for example, a rule in the Russian language, vocabulary words or a complex formula.

The importance of mechanical memory for humans

Promotes language acquisition

When a child is born, mechanical memory helps him learn to understand his parents’ speech. From two months old, you can teach your baby by showing him objects and clearly indicating the name. After just a few weeks, some children are able to search for what is named with their eyes. Thanks to mechanical memory, a person uses his native language and masters new ones, learns to communicate. It plays a huge role in the learning and teaching process.

Important! When mechanical memory replaces verbal logical memory, it hinders the improvement of intelligence, but if they develop in parallel, this will only improve the effectiveness of learning.

Violations lead to a decrease in quality of life

This is a primitive form of memory, since it relies on 1 signaling system, and a base, without which it is difficult to master a certain type of information. There is such a thing as hypomnesia - a violation of mechanical memory, when a person cannot remember basic things. The life of an individual becomes difficult, although his logical memory works well.

Participates in skill development

Any human activity requires the development of new skills and abilities, in the formation of which mechanical memory plays an important role. Anyone who knits does it automatically, since this skill has been repeated a huge number of times; An agitated instrumentalist on stage is often saved by his fingers, which have learned the sequence of keystrokes during rehearsals. There were cases when a person who had completely lost his memory, seeing a computer, was able to do his work on it.

Memory disorders

Prevention of Alzheimer's disease

This disease is called the plague of the 21st century. A person gradually loses his memory, eventually stops recognizing loved ones and forgets how to take care of himself. Treatment for it is ineffective, but as a preventative measure, doctors advise developing verbal and mechanical memory. Verbal memory is understood in psychology as the ability to remember information received in verbal form (text or speech).

Mechanical memory is the basis for the development of thinking and intelligence, the foundation for the formation of skills. Without it, learning and a full-fledged life of an individual are unthinkable.

Characteristic

Mechanical memory is characterized by the following features:

• it is always voluntary, that is, it is carried out consciously, has a goal (to learn specific material), uses a special technique (multiple repetition) to achieve it, and requires volitional efforts;
• most often it is verbal (words are memorized) - in relation to movements, smells, melodies, the process of acquiring professional skills is more active;
• it is short-lived: if a poem or a new foreign word is not repeated, it will be forgotten;
• its volume is limited: at one time each person can learn only a certain number of words, formulas, quatrains.

Mechanical memory is also characterized by the fact that it is not at all plastic. If initially, using it, a person remembers distorted information with errors, later he reproduces it in the same way, because he does not realize the incorrectness. An example is learning a foreign language. If you immediately learn words in the wrong transcription, in the future such pronunciation will be firmly entrenched in the cerebral cortex, with the receptors of which MP is associated, and it will be much more difficult to relearn than to immediately learn everything correctly.

The primitive and non-plastic form of MP is confirmed by numerous experiments. If you even slightly change the conditions for reproducing information that was memorized in this way, the person will have difficulty completing the task given to him. For example, if he is asked to recite a poem, changing the places of the quatrains in it, or replacing one of the values ​​in the formula, or setting other settings on the simulator. The result will be the same - errors and constant hitches.

All of the above features should be taken into account by teachers during training. You should not give your child too much material to automatically memorize. In order to harmoniously develop both types of memory (both mechanical and logical), it is necessary:

• teach the child to set a goal in accordance with the task given by the teacher (learn a formula/poem/words in English);
• help him in mastering the technique of multiple repetitions (in order to remember the material not in 10 times, but in 2-3);
• train willpower;
• develop a verbal perception system;
• teach how to transfer MP from short-term to long-term through constant repetition of memorized material.

Gradually, during the learning process, starting from elementary school, it is necessary to develop the child’s logical memory so that by the age of 10-11 it prevails over the mechanical one. But you shouldn’t abandon the latter either. Both play different but important roles in the formation and formation of a full-fledged and successful personality.