What determines the productivity of arbitrary memorization. Comparative characteristics of voluntary and involuntary memorization. Legal and organizational support for the formation of small business

Patterns of memory (conditions for successful memorization and reproduction) are associated with the forms of memory.

Involuntary memorization

The conditions for successful random memorization are:

• strong and significant physical stimuli (the sound of a shot, bright spotlight);
• what causes increased orienting activity(cessation or resumption of an action, process, unusual phenomenon, its contrast with the background, etc.);
• stimuli that are most significant for a given individual (for example, professionally significant items);
• stimuli that have a special emotional coloring;
• what is most connected with the needs of this person;
• that which is the object of activity.

Thus, the conditions of a problem that we solve for a long time are remembered involuntarily and firmly.

Arbitrary memorization

But in human activity more often there is a need to specifically remember something and reproduce it under appropriate conditions. This is an arbitrary memorization, in which the task of remembering is always set, that is, a special mnemonic activity is carried out.

In the process of human development, voluntary memorization is formed relatively late (mainly by the period of schooling). This type of memorization is intensively developed in the teachings and.

Conditions for successful voluntary memorization are:

• awareness of the significance and meaning of the memorized material;
• identification of its structure, logical relationship of parts and elements, semantic and spatial grouping of material;
• identification of a plan in a verbal-textual material, key words in the content of each of its parts, presentation of the material in the form of a diagram, table, diagram, drawing, visual visual image;
• content and accessibility of the memorized material, its correlation with the experience and orientation of the subject of memorization;
• emotional and aesthetic saturation of the material;
• possibility of using this material in professional activity subject;
• installation on the need to reproduce this material in certain conditions;
• material, which acts as a means of achieving significant goals, plays an essential role in solving life problems, acts as an object of active mental activity.

When memorizing material, it is essential to rationally distribute it in time, and actively reproduce the material being memorized.

mnemonics

If it is impossible to establish semantic connections in a heterogeneous material, artificial methods of facilitating memorization - mnemonics(the art of memorization): the creation of auxiliary artificial associations, the mental placement of the memorized material in a well-known space, a familiar pattern, an easy-to-remember rhythmic tempo. So, from school years everyone knows the mnemonic method of memorizing the sequence of colors of the light spectrum: "Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits."

Arbitrary memory is purposefully organized. Studies show that a person easily retains and reproduces only three or four isolated objects (with their simultaneous perception). The limited volume of simultaneous retention and reproduction of material is due to retroactive and proactive inhibition (inhibition arising, respectively, from subsequent and previous influences).

edge factor

If the subject is given a series of 10 syllables, then the first and last syllables are easier to remember, and the middle ones are worse. What explains this fact? The first elements are not inhibited by previous impressions, and the last members of the series are not inhibited by subsequent elements. The middle members of the series, on the other hand, experience inhibition both from the side of the preceding (proactive inhibition) and from the side of subsequent elements (retroactive, reverse-acting inhibition). The specified pattern of memory (better memorization of extreme elements) is called edge factor.

If the memorized row consists of four elements, then the first, second and fourth are remembered first of all, worse - the third. Therefore, in quatrains, attention should be paid to the third line - the “Achilles heel” of the construction. It is characteristic that it is in the third lines of quatrains that poets often allow violations of the size in order to arouse increased attention to it. Here is how, for example, the first quatrain of N. M. Yazykov's poem "Muse" sounds:

The goddess of the strings survived

Gods and thunder and damask steel.

She did not give beautiful hands into chains

Ages of tyranny and depravity.

It is difficult to remember a list of 18 different items. But listing the hero's purchases dead souls» Nozdryova is not too difficult to remember. In this we are assisted by the author himself, who carries out the necessary contrast organization of the list. “If he [Nozdryov] was lucky enough to attack a simpleton at the fair and beat him, he would buy a bunch of everything that had previously caught his eye in the shops: collars, smoking tar, chintz, candles, kerchiefs for the nanny, a stallion, raisins, a silver washstand, Dutch canvas, grain flour, tobacco, pistols, herrings, paintings, grinding tools, pots, boots, faience utensils - as far as there was enough money.

When moving from memorizing one complex material to memorizing another, it is necessary to take breaks (for at least 15 minutes), which prevent retroactive inhibition.

The assumption that traces do not disappear at all, but are only inhibited under the influence of other influences, is confirmed by the phenomenon of reminiscence (Latin reminiscentia - recollection). Often, when playing material immediately after it has been perceived, the number of elements retained in memory is less than the amount that a person can reproduce after a pause. This is due to the fact that during the rest period, the effect of inhibition is removed.

To expand the amount of arbitrary memory, it is necessary to give the memorized material a certain structure, to group his. It is unlikely, for example, that anyone can quickly remember a series of 16 isolated numbers: 1001110101110011. If you group this series in the form of two-digit numbers: 10 01 11 01 01 11 00 11, then they are easier to remember. In the form of four-digit numbers, this series is even easier to remember, since it no longer consists of 16 elements, but of four enlarged groups: 1001 1101 0111 0011. Combining elements into groups reduces the number of those elements that experience proactive and retroactive inhibition, allows you to compare these elements, i.e., include intellectual activity in the memorization process.

Rice. 1. Techniques for organizing an arbitrary mnemonic action

The productivity of semantic memory is 25 times higher than mechanical memory. Establishing connections, structure, principle, patterns of building an object is the main condition for its successful memorization. It is difficult to mechanically remember the numbers 248163264128256, but it is very easy to remember the same numbers if you establish a certain pattern in a number of numbers (doubling each subsequent number). The number 123-456-789 is easy to remember by finding the principle of its construction (Fig. 1).

Arbitrary memorization of figurative material is also facilitated by the identification of the principle of its organization (Fig. 2).

In experimental studies, it is found that the subjects "remember" more information than what they were presented with for memorization. If, for example, the sentence “Ivanov chopped sugar” is given for memorization, then when it is reproduced, the subjects often reconstruct this material as follows: “Ivanov chopped sugar with tongs.” This phenomenon is explained by the involuntary connection to the memorization of the judgments and conclusions of the individual.

So, memory is not a store of static information. It is organized by systematizing processes of perception and thinking.

Rice. 2. Remember and reproduce in the same sequence this series of figures (the task can be completed only when the principle of the arrangement of the figures is established)

At playback material as a support should be used those objects that structurally organized the field of perception, regulated the activity of the subject of memorization.

Memories are a special kind of reproduction. Memory- the assignment by the individual of figurative representations to a certain place and moment of his life. The localization of memories is facilitated by reproducing integral behavioral events, their sequence.

Reproduction associated with overcoming difficulties is called recollection. Overcoming the difficulties of recall is facilitated by the establishment of various associations.

Reproducible images of objects or phenomena are called representations. They are divided into types corresponding to the types of perceptions (visual, auditory, etc.).

The peculiarity of representations is their generality and fragmentation. Representations do not convey with the same brightness all the features and signs of objects. If certain representations are connected with our activity, then those aspects of the object that are most essential for this activity come to the fore.

Representations are generalized images of reality. They preserve the permanent attributes of things and discard the random ones. Representations are a higher level of knowledge than sensation and perception. They are a transitional stage from sensations to thought. But representations are always paler, less complete than perceptions. When presenting an image of a well-known object, for example, the facade of your house, you can find that this image is fragmentary and somewhat reconstructed.

The past is restored with the participation of thinking - in a generalized and indirect way. Consciousness of reproduction inevitably leads to a categorical, conceptual coverage of the past. And only specially organized control activity - comparison, critical evaluation - brings the reconstructed picture closer to the real events.

The material of reproduction is a product not only of memory, but of the entire mental originality of a given individual.

The material is remembered in the context of human activity. First of all, what was most relevant, significant in human activity, how this activity began and ended, what obstacles arose on the way to its implementation are stored in memory. At the same time, some people better remember the facilitators, while others - the hindering factors of activity.

In interpersonal interactions, what is remembered more firmly is that which affects the most significant personal characteristics of the individual.

There are also personal tendencies to reconstruct the material stored in the memory. A person remembers events in the form in which he comprehends them in the process of perception. Already an elementary act of synthesis of perception and memory - recognition is distinguished by a number of individual characteristics. Poor memory for faces can be combined with good memory for other objects.

The accuracy and completeness of reproduction depend on the suggestibility and conformity of the individual, his tendency to fantasize. Significant deformations of cognitive processes occur in emotionally stressed states.

So, memory is not a warehouse of finished goods. Her material is subject to personal reconstruction. The personal reconstruction of the reproduced material can manifest itself in the distortion of the semantic content of the source material, the illusory detailing of the reproduced event, the unification of disparate elements, the separation of related elements, the replacement of content with other similar content, the spatial and temporal mixing of events or their fragments, exaggeration, emphasizing personally significant aspects of the event, confusion functionally identical objects.

In the memory of a person, not only the actual side of events is preserved, but also their corresponding interpretation. Meaningful memorization is characterized by the inclusion of the material in the semantic (categorial-conceptual) field of the individual. Reproduction, restoration of past influences is not a "slump" of these influences. The degree of discrepancy between ideas and real events is not the same for different people. It depends on the type of higher nervous activity of the individual, the structure of individual consciousness, value attitudes, motives and goals of activity.

It also functions intensively beyond the threshold of consciousness. At present, it is modeled with the help of electronic computers. However, these machines provide only information storage, while human memory is a constantly self-organizing process, a mental mechanism integrating the results of all mental processes, a mechanism for storing directly perceived and logically processed information.

Some people may have full, vivid representations after a single and involuntary perception of an object. Such representations are called eidetic(from Greek eidos - image). Sometimes there is an involuntary, obsessive, cyclical emergence of images - perseveration(lat. perseveratio - perseverance).

Memory is based on those mental processes that occur during the initial meeting with the memorized material. Accordingly, during reproduction, the main role is played by the actualization of the material in terms of the functional connections of its elements, their semantic context, and the structural relationship of its parts. And for this, the material in the process of imprinting must be clearly analyzed (divided into structural and semantic units) and synthesized (conceptually combined). The reserves of human memory are inexhaustible.

According to the calculations of the famous cyberneticist J. Neumann, the human brain can accommodate the entire amount of information stored in the largest libraries in the world. Alexander the Great knew by sight and by name all the soldiers of his army of many thousands. A. A. Alekhin could play from memory (blindly) with 40 partners at the same time.

Someone E. Gaon knew by heart all 2.5 thousand books he had read in his life, and could reproduce any passage from them. Numerous cases of outstanding figurative memory of people of artistic type are known. W. A. ​​Mozart could record a great piece of music after listening to it only once. Composers L. K. Glazunov and S. V. Rakhmaninov had the same musical memory. The artist N. N. Ge could accurately depict from memory what he had seen only once.

A person involuntarily remembers everything that attracts his attention: the captivating colors of spring evenings, the graceful outlines of ancient cathedrals, the joyful faces of people close to him, the smells of the sea and pine forest. All these numerous images constitute the figurative-intellectual fund of his psyche.

Everyone has the ability to significantly expand the amount of memory. At the same time, it is necessary to discipline the intellect - to single out the essential against the background of the secondary, actively reproduce the necessary material, widely use mnemonic techniques. The habit of remembering the right things is fixed, like any other skill. School folklore about “Pythagorean pants” and about “every hunter who wants to know where the pheasant is sitting” testifies to the indestructible desire of our mind to find a scheme, an association, even where it is impossible to establish logical connections.

Each person has features of his memory: some people have a strong verbal-logical memory, others have a figurative one; some remember quickly, others need more careful processing of the memorized material. But in all cases it is necessary to avoid that which causes proactive and retroactive inhibition. And at the first difficulties of reproduction, the phenomenon of reminiscence should be used.

In those cases where the direct source of the mnemonic orientation is the conscious intention to remember, memorization is a special kind of mental activity, often very complex, and in its very essence is arbitrary memorization. Usually, it is opposed to involuntary memorization, which is carried out in cases where the mnemonic task is not set, and the activity leading to memorization is aimed at achieving some other goals. When we decide math problem, we do not set ourselves the goal of remembering the numerical data that is available in the problem. Our goal is to solve the problem, not to memorize the numbers in it, and yet we remember them, even if only for a short time ...

The presence of a mnemonic orientation is of paramount importance, first of all, for the productivity of memorization. The low productivity of involuntary memorization was noted in a number of works (Stern (1903-1904, 1904-1906), G. Myers (1913), etc.). It is well known that, other things being equal, voluntary memorization is much more effective than involuntary. The intention to remember should be considered one of the most important conditions for the success of memorization.

This position is well known to everyone. personal experience from life observations. At the same time, it has found its clear reflection in experimental practice. One of the most clear examples its meaning is a case described by the Serbian psychologist Radosavlevich (1907) and cited many times in the psychological literature. One of the subjects of this researcher did not understand, due to poor knowledge of the language spoken by the experimenter, the task that was put before him. - memorize relatively small (but meaningless) material. As a result of this misunderstanding, it turned out that the memorization of even a small material could not be realized, despite the fact that the material was read aloud 46 times. However, once the task of remembering was clear to the subjects, he was able to reproduce the entire material with complete accuracy after only six exposures to it.

The same is also evidenced by the data of other works, in which the question of the action of the task of remembering was subjected to special study, in particular, the studies of Poppelreiter (1912), Wolgemuth (1915), Mazo (1929). The methodology of these works consisted in the fact that the subjects were asked, on the one hand, to perceive some material in order to memorize it, and on the other hand, to familiarize themselves with similar material in conditions where memorization was not required. In both cases, after this (in the second case, unexpectedly for the subjects), it was proposed to reproduce the perceived material. The results of the experiments showed that in the first case memorization was much more productive than in the second case.

Very indicative is well known to everyone who led experimental studies memory, the fact of poor memorization by the experimenters of the material that they offer the subjects for memorization. All subjects memorize the material completely and accurately, while the experimenters themselves, who read this material to the subjects, at the end of the experiments can reproduce it extremely insufficiently, and this takes place despite the fact that the experiments are carried out with several subjects, due to which the material is perceived by the experimenters significantly. more times than for each subject individually.

Mnemic orientation is not something homogeneous, always the same. Each time it appears in one or another qualitatively unique content.

The first thing that characterizes the specific content of an orientation is the requirements that memorization must satisfy, i.e. what exactly should be achieved as a result of memorization. From this point of view, one can speak of a focus on a particular quality of memorization, represented by a number of basic and most typical tasks or settings that change in each individual case and thereby determine the qualitative originality of the focus of memorization. What are these tasks and attitudes?

Any mnemonic activity is aimed primarily at one or another completeness of memorization. In some cases, we are faced with the task (or we have an attitude) to remember the entire content of what affects us (continuous memorization). In other cases, we are focused on remembering only a part of what we perceive: the main thoughts of the text, individual facts, etc. (selective memorization).

Further, it is necessary to indicate the differences in the focus on the accuracy of memorization, which in some cases may relate to the content of what is remembered, in others - to the form of its expression. In the latter case, one of the extremes is the task (or attitude) to memorize this or that material literally, to learn it by heart. The other extreme is memorization as much as possible in "one's own" words.

Of particular note are the differences observed in the direction of remembering the sequence of what affects us. In some cases, we strive to remember events, facts, verbal material in the very sequence in which all this was actually given to us. In other cases, such a task or attitude is absent, and sometimes we even more or less consciously set ourselves an inverse task - to change the perceived sequence of material, to make, for example, verbal material more logical or simply more convenient to remember.

The next point characterizing the focus on memorization is the focus on the strength of memorization. In some cases, we set ourselves the task of remembering the material as firmly as possible, for a long time, in a certain sense "forever". In other cases, memorization is aimed at retaining material in memory for at least a short time, in particular, retaining it only so much that it can be reproduced only immediately after perception, in the immediately following moment (long-term and short-term memory).

A special type of mnemonic orientation is the focus on the timeliness of reproduction, i.e., on reproducing what we remember at a certain point in time, in the presence of a certain situation (remember, for example, something when meeting a certain person, when arriving at a certain place and etc.)...

1. Dependence of involuntary memorization on the direction of activity

We have considered how great is the influence exerted on memorization by mnemonic orientation. The very fact of its presence or absence, as well as the nature of mnemonic tasks, their specific content, to a large extent determine both the productivity and the qualitative originality of memorization.

Both depend, however, not only on the mnemonic orientation. After all, memorization is carried out as a result of such an activity, which in itself is not aimed at achieving a mnemonic character; meanwhile, such activity, of course, is also directed at something, although not at memorization itself. Meanwhile, its orientation can be very different, and this cannot but affect in one way or another the results of memorization, what remains in memory as a result of this - non-nemic - activity.

How exactly are these results of memorization connected with the non-mnemonic orientation of the activity in which involuntary memorization is carried out?

In order to obtain at least some material elucidating this issue, we carried out the following experiments (1945). We asked subjects to recall some facts from their recent past. The subjects did not have any task - to remember either at the moment when these facts occurred, or after them. They had to remember what they remembered involuntarily. At the same time, the activity, as a result of which this memorization was carried out, like any other activity, was directed at something definite (and, moreover, for a relatively long time). It was our task to trace the dependence of memorization on this particular direction of activity occurring in natural, living conditions.

In total, we conducted two series of experiments with several subjects each time. In one case, we asked the subjects to recall everything that happened to them when they went from home to the institute where they worked ("the way to work"). The survey was conducted unexpectedly for the subjects and usually took place 1.5-2 hours after the start of work. The subjects had to give the most detailed account possible about everything they saw, heard, everything they did, what they thought, what they experienced emotionally. At the same time, they were warned that if they did not want to talk about something, then they could limit themselves either to the most general description of what they had in their minds, or even to refuse to tell at all, indicating only how clearly and fully they recalled that that they don't want to tell. It should immediately be noted that there were no such cases in our experiments: the subjects never noted that they had anything that they would not like to talk about in their report to the experimenter. On the contrary, they were most interested in remembering and telling as much as possible, and made every effort to do so.

In the second series of experiments, the subjects were asked (again, unexpectedly for them) to remember everything that happened during one scientific meeting, which they attended a week before the experiments. They were supposed to present the content of the report that was made at this meeting, and the debate that took place at it ...

What are the general results of the first series of experiments?

First of all, she showed that the memories of the subjects are much more related to what the subjects did than to what they thought. The content of thoughts is rarely recalled and very sparingly, although the very fact of thinking during the journey is undoubted for the subjects and is stated by them many times. "I thought, but I don't remember what I was thinking about" - this is the most typical formula for all the testimony given. At the same time, what exactly the subjects did - they remember it quite well

It is characteristic that even in those cases when thoughts are recalled, they are nevertheless connected with the actions of the subject. This or thoughts about the fact that the subject is in this moment performs, i.e., one way or another connected with his transition from home to work, or thoughts about upcoming or planned actions (N.’s thoughts about the upcoming work; the question that Sh. to have a conversation, etc.).

Memories of what was perceived along the way are of the same nature. In this case, too, the subjects remember mainly what was connected with their movement itself, that is, with the very activity that they performed. At the same time, and this seems extremely important, they usually talk about what arose before them either as an obstacle on the way, or, on the contrary, facilitated movement, making it unhindered.

The presence of certain difficulties or, conversely, their absence where they could be, where they were expected, or where they usually occur - such is the content of a significant part of the testimony of each subject.

In full accordance with this is the following fact. In those cases when the subjects recalled something not connected with their movement, their memories most often referred to what caused them some questions, bewilderment, surprise, i.e. in essence, it also represented some, albeit peculiar, obstacle, delay, indicated the presence of some task for perception or comprehension. Such, for example, are the questions: "What's new in the newspaper?", "Is there such and such a thing in the kiosk?", "Is such and such a kiosk open?", "Why is comedy not intelligible?", "What does this person do? This should also include the recollection of something strange, incomprehensible, unusual, which did not fit into the framework of the mechanically flowing perception (“the coats of the subway passengers wonderfully rising from the wind” ... “Unusually sanded sidewalk on the university yard”, "the lack of gloves on a woman, despite the severe frost", etc.) ...

How can we explain the facts revealed in our experiments?

The answer to this can only be given in connection with taking into account the orientation of the subjects at the moment when they performed the activity they were talking about.

What were they directed to during the transition to the institute to work? In order to achieve the goal in a timely manner, to arrive on time at the institution in which they worked, thereby not violating labor discipline. That was the task before them. That was their setup. These were their motives. Getting around on the street was not just walking for them. It was a purposeful, and, moreover, under certain conditions, that is, connected with a certain time, the transition from home to work. This transition was the main activity that they performed. The subjects did not think and walked, more or less mechanically, while thinking, but walked and thought while walking. This does not mean, of course, that all their attention was focused on walking and that all their thoughts revolved only around this. On the contrary, their consciousness was filled with thoughts, undoubtedly, of a different content, not related to what they were doing at the moment. But the main thing that they did during that period of time that they talked about was precisely the transition from home to work, and not those thinking processes that they had, of course, in sufficient quantities, but were not connected with the mainstream of their activities. .

In what relation to this main channel of activity, to the main orientation of the subjects, was the content of what was reproduced in the stories?

It is not difficult to see that the one and the other largely coincided with each other. The subjects mainly talked about what was connected precisely with the main channel of their activity (in a certain period of time), that is, with the way to work. And vice versa, everything that lay outside this channel fell out of their memory, was not reproduced at all, despite considerable efforts to recall, if possible, everything that was. It was in this position that the thoughts that arose in the subjects during the journey turned out to be. Not being connected with the main direction of activity, they were completely forgotten, disappeared from memory, although the subjects knew well that they had them and that all the time of the transition from home to work was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

Thus, the most important condition that determined memorization in the experiments carried out was the main channel of the subjects' activity, the main line of their orientation, and the motives that guided them in their activity.

Along with this, our experiments also showed the specific relationship in which everything that was best remembered was related to the main channel of the subjects' activity. It was best to remember what arose as an obstacle, difficulty in activity.

This moment is also decisive in memorizing everything that did not belong to the main line of the subjects' orientation, that lay outside the main channel of their activity. No matter how insignificant the amount of what was reproduced from among what was not related to the main line of action, however, in these cases, the subjects remembered best of all that which was an obstacle, a difficulty in activity (this time, at least not related to the fact that they were mostly directed). Therefore, the attitude of something to activity as some kind of obstacle to its implementation is undoubtedly one of the main conditions that determine the effectiveness of memorization. It, as we have seen, determines the preservation in memory of what is connected with the main stream of activity. It also serves as a source of memorization and what goes beyond this channel.

Smirnov A. A. Problems of the psychology of memory / Izbr. psychol. works: In 2 vols. T. II. - M.: Pedagogy, 1987. - S. 35-40; pp. 66-74.

Memorization. Memory, like any other cognitive mental process, has certain characteristics. The main characteristics of memory are: volume, speed of imprinting, fidelity, duration of storage, readiness for use of the stored information. Memory- this is the most important integral characteristic of memory, which characterizes the possibility of storing and storing information. Speaking about the amount of memory, the number of stored units of information is used as an indicator.

A setting such as playback speed, characterizes the ability of a person to use the information available to him in practical activities. As a rule, when faced with the need to solve a problem or problem, a person turns to the information that is stored in memory. At the same time, some people quite easily use their "information reserves", while others, on the contrary, experience serious difficulties when trying to reproduce the information necessary to solve even a familiar problem.

Another characteristic of memory is fidelity. This characteristic reflects the ability of a person to accurately store, and most importantly, accurately reproduce the information imprinted in memory. In the process of storing in memory, some of the information is lost, and some is distorted, and when reproducing this information, a person can make mistakes. Therefore, the accuracy of reproduction is a very significant characteristic of memory. The most important characteristic of memory is duration, it reflects the ability of a person to retain the necessary information for a certain time. Very often in practice we are faced with the fact that a person remembers the necessary information, but cannot keep it for the required time. For example, a person is preparing for an exam. remembers one learning topic, and when he begins to teach the next one, he suddenly finds that he does not remember what he taught before. Sometimes it's different. The person remembered all the necessary information, but when it was required to reproduce it, he could not do it. However, after some time, he is surprised to note that he remembers everything that he managed to learn. AT this case we are faced with another characteristic of memory - the readiness to reproduce the information imprinted in memory.

As we have already noted, memory is a complex mental process that combines a number of mental processes. The listed characteristics of memory are to some extent inherent in all processes that are united by the concept of "memory". We will begin our acquaintance with the basic mechanisms and processes of memory with memorization.

memorization is the process of capturing and then storing the perceived information. According to the degree of activity of this process, it is customary to distinguish two types of memorization:

1. unintentional(or involuntary)
2. deliberate(or arbitrary).

Unintentional memory- this is memorization without a pre-set goal, without the use of any techniques and manifestation of volitional efforts. This is a simple imprint of what has affected us and has retained some trace of excitation in the cerebral cortex. For example, after a walk in the woods or after visiting the theater, we can remember much of what we saw, although we did not specifically set ourselves the task of remembering. In principle, every process that occurs in the cerebral cortex as a result of exposure to an external stimulus leaves behind traces, although the degree of their strength is different. It is best to remember what is of vital importance for a person: everything that is connected with his interests and needs, with the goals and objectives of his activity. Therefore, even involuntary memorization, in a certain sense, is selective and is determined by our attitude to the environment.

Unlike involuntary memory voluntary (or intentional) memorization characterized by the fact that a person sets himself a specific goal - to remember some information - and uses special memorization techniques. Arbitrary memorization is a special and complex mental activity, subordinate to the task of remembering. In addition, voluntary memorization includes a variety of actions performed in order to better achieve the goal. Such actions, or methods of memorizing material, include memorization, the essence of which is the repeated repetition of educational material until it is completely and accurately memorized. For example, verses, definitions, laws, formulas, historical dates, etc. are memorized. It should be noted that, other things being equal, arbitrary memorization is noticeably more productive than unintentional memorization.

main feature intentional memorization- this is a manifestation of volitional efforts in the form of setting a task for memorization. Repeated repetition allows you to reliably and firmly memorize material that is many times greater than the amount of individual short-term memory. Much of what is perceived in life big number time, is not remembered by us, if the task is not to remember. But if you set yourself this task and perform all the actions necessary for its implementation, memorization proceeds with relatively great success and turns out to be quite strong. Illustrating the importance of setting a task for memorization, A. A. Smirnov cites as an example the case that happened to the Yugoslav psychologist P. Radossavlevich. He was conducting an experiment with a person who did not understand the language in which the experiment was conducted. The essence of this experiment was to memorize meaningless syllables. Usually, it took several repetitions to memorize them. This time, the subject read them 20, 30, 40, and finally 46 times, but did not signal to the experimenter that he remembered them. When the psychologist asked to repeat the read row by heart, the surprised subject, who did not understand the purpose of the experiment due to insufficient knowledge of the language, exclaimed: “How? So I have to memorize it?” After that, he read the series of syllables indicated to him six more times and repeated it unmistakably.

Therefore, in order to remember as well as possible, it is necessary to set a goal - not only to perceive and understand the material, but also to really remember it.

It should be noted that great importance when memorizing has not only setting common task(remember what is perceived), but also the setting of private, special tasks. In some cases, for example, the task is to remember only the essence of the material we perceive, only the main thoughts and the most significant facts, in others - to remember verbatim, in still others - to remember exactly the sequence of facts, etc.

Thus, the setting of special tasks plays an essential role in memorization. Under its influence, the very process of memorization can change. However, according to S. L. Rubinshtein, memorization very much depends on the nature of the activity during which it is performed. Moreover, Rubinstein believed that it is impossible to draw unambiguous conclusions about the greater efficiency of voluntary or involuntary memorization. The advantages of arbitrary memorization are obvious only at first glance. The studies of the well-known Russian psychologist P.I. Zinchenko convincingly proved that the attitude towards memorization, which makes it the direct goal of the subject's action, is not in itself decisive for the effectiveness of the memorization process. In certain cases, involuntary memorization may be more effective than arbitrary. In Zinchenko's experiments, unintentional memorization of pictures in the course of an activity whose goal was their classification (without the task of remembering) turned out to be definitely higher than in the case when the subjects were tasked with specifically remembering the pictures.

A study by A. A. Smirnov devoted to the same problem confirmed that involuntary memorization can be more productive than intentional: what the subjects memorized involuntarily, along the way in the process of activity, the purpose of which was not memorization, was remembered more firmly than what they tried to remember specially. The essence of the experiment was that the subjects were presented with two phrases, each of which corresponded to some spelling rule (for example, "my brother is learning Chinese" and "we must learn to write in short phrases"). During the experiment, it was necessary to establish which rule the given phrase belongs to and come up with another pair of phrases on the same topic. It was not required to memorize the phrases, but after a few days the subjects were asked to remember both those and other phrases. It turned out that the phrases they themselves invented in the process of vigorous activity were remembered about three times better than those given to them by the experimenter.

Consequently, memorization, included in some activity, is the most effective, since it depends on the activity in which it is performed.

It is remembered, as it is realized, first of all, what constitutes the goal of our action. However, what is not related to the purpose of the action is remembered worse than with arbitrary memorization, aimed specifically at this material. At the same time, it must be taken into account that the vast majority of our systematic knowledge arises as a result of special activities, the purpose of which is to memorize the relevant material in order to keep it in memory. Such activity aimed at memorizing and reproducing the retained material is called mnemonic activity.

Mnemic activity is a specifically human phenomenon, because memorization becomes a special task only for a person, and memorization of material, its preservation in memory and recall - a special form of conscious activity. At the same time, a person must clearly separate the material that he was asked to remember from all side impressions. Therefore, mnemonic activity is always selective.

It should be noted that the study of human mnemonic activity is one of the central problems of modern psychology. The main objectives of the study of mnemonic activity are to determine the amount of memory available to a person and the maximum possible speed of memorizing the material, as well as the time during which the material can be retained in memory. These tasks are not simple, especially since the processes of memorization in specific cases have a number of differences.

Another characteristic of the memorization process is the degree of comprehension of the memorized material. Therefore, it is customary to single out meaningful and mechanical memorization.

Rote- this is memorization without awareness of the logical connection between the various parts of the perceived material. An example of such a memorization is the memorization of statistical data, historical dates, etc. The basis of rote memorization is associations by adjacency. One piece of material relates to another only because it follows it in time. In order to establish such a connection, repeated repetition of the material is necessary.

In contrast, meaningful memorization is based on understanding the internal logical connections between the individual parts of the material. Two positions, of which one is a conclusion from the other, are remembered not because they follow each other in time, but because they are logically connected. Therefore, meaningful memorization is always associated with the processes of thinking and relies mainly on generalized connections between parts of the material at the level of the second signal system.

It has been proven that meaningful memorization is many times more productive than mechanical memorization. Mechanical memorization is uneconomical, requiring many repetitions. A mechanically memorized person cannot always remember the place and time. Meaningful memorization requires much less effort and time from a person, but is more effective. However, practically both types of memorization - mechanical and meaningful - are closely intertwined with each other. By memorization, we are mainly based on semantic connections, but the exact sequence of words is remembered with the help of associations by contiguity. On the other hand, by memorizing even incoherent material, we, one way or another, are trying to build semantic connections. So, one of the ways to increase the volume and strength of memorization of unrelated words is to create a conditional logical connection between them. In certain cases, this connection may be meaningless in content, but very striking in terms of representations. For example, you need to remember a number of words: watermelon, table, elephant, comb, button, etc. To do this, we will build a conditional-logical chain of the following form: “The watermelon is on the table. An elephant sits at the table. There is a comb in the pocket of his vest, and the vest itself is buttoned with one button. Etc. With this technique, within one minute, you can memorize up to 30 words or more (depending on training) with a single repetition.

If we compare these methods of memorizing material - meaningful and mechanical - then we can conclude that meaningful memorization is much more productive. With mechanical memorization, only 40% of the material remains in memory after one hour, and after a few hours - only 20%, and in the case of meaningful memorization, 40% of the material is stored in memory even after 30 days.

The advantage of meaningful memorization over mechanical memorization is very clearly manifested in the analysis of the costs necessary to increase the amount of memorized material. In rote learning, as the amount of material increases, a disproportionately large increase in the number of repetitions is required. For example, if only one repetition is required to memorize six nonsense words, then when memorizing 12 words, 14-16 repetitions are needed, and for 36 words - 55 repetitions. Therefore, when increasing the material by six times, it is necessary to increase the number of repetitions by 55 times. At the same time, with an increase in the volume of meaningful material (poem), in order to memorize it, it is required to increase the number of repetitions from two to 15 times, i.e., the number of repetitions increases by 7.5 times, which convincingly indicates a greater productivity of meaningful memorization. Therefore, let's take a closer look at the conditions that contribute to meaningful and durable memorization of the material.

Comprehension of the material is achieved by various methods, and above all by highlighting the main thoughts in the material being studied and grouping them in the form of a plan. When using this technique, we, memorizing the text, divide it into more or less independent sections, or groups of thoughts. Each group includes something that has one common semantic core, a single theme. Closely related to this technique is the second way, which facilitates memorization: the selection of semantic strong points. The essence of this method lies in the fact that we replace each semantic part with some word or concept that reflects the main idea of ​​the memorized material. Then, in both the first and second cases, we combine what we have learned by mentally drawing up a plan. Each paragraph of the plan is a generalized heading of a certain part of the text. The transition from one part to the next parts is a logical sequence of the main thoughts of the text. When the text is reproduced, the material is concentrated around the headings of the plan, drawn to them, which makes it easier to remember. The need to draw up a plan accustoms a person to thoughtful reading, comparing individual parts of the text, clarifying the order and internal interconnection of questions.

It has been established that students who make a plan when memorizing texts reveal more solid knowledge than those who memorize a text without such a plan.

A useful method of comprehending the material is comparison, i.e., finding similarities and differences between objects, phenomena, events, etc. One of the options for this method is to compare the studied material with the previously obtained. So, studying with children new material, the teacher often compares it with what has already been studied, thereby including new material in the knowledge system. Similarly, the comparison of the material with other, just received information is carried out. For example, it is easier to remember the dates of birth and death of M. Yu. Lermontov if they are compared with each other: 1814 and 1841.

The comprehension of the material is also helped by its concretization, explanation of general provisions and rules with examples, solving problems in accordance with the rules, making observations, laboratory work etc. There are other methods of understanding.

The most important method of meaningful memorization of material and achieving high strength of its conservation is repetition method. Repetition- the most important condition for mastering knowledge, skills and abilities. But to be productive, repetitions must meet certain requirements. The conducted research allowed to reveal some regularities in the use of the repetition method.

First of all, memorization proceeds unevenly: after the rise in reproduction, some decrease may occur. At the same time, it is temporary in nature, since new repetitions give a significant increase in recall.

Secondly, learning is in leaps and bounds. Sometimes several repetitions in a row do not give a significant increase in recall, but then, with subsequent repetitions, there is a sharp increase in the amount of memorized material. This is explained by the fact that the traces left each time an object is perceived are at first insufficient for recall, but then, after several repetitions, their influence is felt immediately, and, moreover, in a large number of words.

Thirdly, if the material as a whole is not difficult to remember, then the first repetitions give a greater result than subsequent ones. Each new repetition gives a very slight increase in the amount of memorized material. This is because the main, easier part is remembered quickly, and the remaining, more difficult part requires a large number of repetitions.

Fourth if the material is difficult, then memorization goes, on the contrary, at first slowly, and then quickly. This is explained by the fact that the actions of the first repetitions are insufficient due to the difficulty of the material and the increase in the volume of memorized material increases only with multiple repetitions.

Fifth, repetitions are needed not only when we learn the material, but also when we need to consolidate in memory what we have already learned. When the memorized material is repeated, its strength and duration of preservation increase many times over.

In addition to the above patterns of using the repetition method, there are conditions that contribute to increasing the efficiency of memorization. It is very important that the repetition is active and varied. To do this, the memorizer is given different tasks: to come up with examples, answer questions, draw a diagram, draw up a table, make a visual aid, etc. With active repetition, connections are revived at the level of the second signal system, since the variety of forms of repetition contributes to the formation of new connections of the studied material with practice. As a result, memorization becomes more complete. Passive repetition does not have the same effect. In one experiment, students memorized texts by repeating them five times. An analysis of the effectiveness of each reading showed that as soon as repetition becomes passive, memorization becomes unproductive.

It is also very important to correctly distribute the repetition in time. In psychology, two methods of repetition are known: concentrated and distributed. In the first method, the material is memorized in one step, repetition follows one after the other without interruption. For example, if a poem requires 12 repetitions to memorize, then the student reads it 12 times in a row until he memorizes it. With distributed repetition, each reading is separated from the other by some gap.

Ongoing research shows that distributed repetition is more rational than concentrated repetition. It saves time and energy, contributing to a more solid assimilation of knowledge. In one of the studies, two groups of schoolchildren memorized a poem in different ways: the first group - concentrated, the second - distributed. Complete memorization with the concentrated method required 24 repetitions, and with the distributed method - only 10, i.e., 2.4 times less. At the same time, distributed repetition provides greater strength of knowledge. Therefore, experienced teachers repeat educational material with students for a whole year, but in order not to reduce the activity of children, they diversify repetition techniques, include material in new and new connections.

Very close to the method of distributed memorization is the method of reproduction during memorization. Its essence consists in attempts to reproduce material that has not yet been fully learned. For example, there are two ways to learn material:

1. limit yourself to reading only and read until you are sure that he has been learned;
2. read the material once or twice, then try to reproduce it, then read it again several times and try to reproduce it again, etc.

Experiments show that second the option is much more productive and expedient. Learning goes faster and retention becomes more durable.

The productivity of memorization also depends on how memorization is carried out: in general or in parts. In psychology, there are three ways of memorizing a large amount of material: holistic, partial and combined. The first method (holistic) consists in the fact that the material (text, poem, etc.) is read from beginning to end several times, until complete assimilation. In the second method (partial), the material is divided into parts and each part is memorized separately. First, one part is read several times, then the second, then the third, etc. The combined method is a combination of the holistic and the partial. The material is first read in its entirety one or several times, depending on its volume and nature, then difficult passages are highlighted and memorized separately, after which the entire text is read again in its entirety. If the material, for example, a poetic text, is large in volume, then it is divided into stanzas, logically complete parts, and memorization occurs in this way: first, the text is read once or twice from beginning to end, its general meaning is clarified, then each part is memorized, after which the material is read in its entirety again.

M. N. Shardakov's studies showed that of these methods, the most appropriate is the combined one. It ensures uniform memorization of all parts of the material, requires deep reflection, the ability to highlight the main thing. Such activities are carried out with greater concentration of attention, hence its greater productivity. In Shardakov's experiments, students who memorized a poem in a combined way needed only 9 repetitions, when memorizing as a whole - 14 repetitions, and when memorizing in parts - 16 repetitions.

It should be noted that the success of memorization largely depends on the level of self-control. A manifestation of self-control are attempts to reproduce the material while memorizing it. Such attempts help to establish that we remember what mistakes we made during reproduction and what should be paid attention to in subsequent reading. In addition, the productivity of memorization also depends on the nature of the material. Visual-figurative material is remembered better than verbal, and a logically connected text is reproduced more fully than disparate sentences.

There are certain differences in memorizing descriptive and explanatory texts. Thus, students in the primary and secondary grades better memorize literary passages and natural-science descriptions, worse - socio-historical texts. At the same time, these differences are almost absent in the upper grades.

Thus, for successful memorization, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the mechanisms of the memorization process and use a variety of mnemonic techniques. In conclusion, we will schematically display the material presented.

Preservation, reproduction, recognition. All the information that was perceived, we not only remember, but also save a certain time. Preservation as a process of memory has its own laws. For example, it is stated that storage can be dynamic and static. Dynamic storage is manifested in RAM, and static - in long-term. With dynamic preservation, the material changes little, while with static preservation, on the contrary, it necessarily undergoes reconstruction and certain processing.

The reconstruction of the material stored by long-term memory occurs primarily under the influence of new information continuously coming from our senses. Reconstruction manifests itself in various forms, for example, in the disappearance of some less significant details and their replacement with other details, in a change in the sequence of material, in the degree of its generalization.

Retrieving material from memory carried out through two processes - playback and recognition. Playback- this is the process of recreating the image of an object that we perceived earlier, but not perceived at the moment. Reproduction differs from perception in that it occurs after and outside of it. Thus, the physiological basis of reproduction is the renewal of the neural connections formed earlier during the perception of objects and phenomena.

Like remembering, reproduction may be unintentional(involuntary) and deliberate(arbitrary). In the first case, reproduction occurs unexpectedly for ourselves. For example, passing by the school where we studied, we can suddenly reproduce the image of the teacher who taught us, or the images of school friends. A special case of unintentional reproduction is the appearance of persevering images, which are characterized by exceptional stability.

With arbitrary reproduction, unlike involuntary, we remember, having a consciously set goal. Such a goal is the desire to recall something from our past experience, for example when we set ourselves the goal of recalling a well-learned poem. In this case, as a rule, the words "go by themselves." There are cases when reproduction proceeds in the form of a more or less prolonged recall. In these cases, the achievement of the goal - to remember something - is carried out through the achievement of intermediate goals that allow solving the main task. For example, in order to remember an event, we try to remember all the facts that are in one way or another connected with it. Moreover, the use of intermediate links is usually conscious. We consciously map out what might help us to remember, or think about how it relates to what we are looking for, or evaluate everything that we remember, or judge why it does not fit, etc. Therefore, processes memories are closely related to the processes of thinking.

At the same time, remembering, we often encounter difficulties. At first we remember the wrong thing, reject it and set ourselves the task of remembering something again. It is obvious that all this requires from us certain volitional efforts. Therefore, remembrance is at the same time a volitional process.

In addition to reproduction, we are constantly faced with such a phenomenon as recognition. Recognition of any object occurs at the moment of its perception and means that there is a perception of an object, the idea of ​​which has been formed in a person either on the basis of personal impressions (memory representation) or on the basis of verbal descriptions (imagination representation). For example, we recognize the house in which a friend lives, but which we have never been, and recognition occurs due to the fact that this house was previously described to us, explained by what signs to find it, which was reflected in our ideas about it.

It should be noted that recognition processes differ from each other in the degree of certainty. Recognition is least certain in those cases when we experience only the feeling of familiarity of the object, but cannot identify it with anything from past experience. For example, we see a person whose face seems familiar to us, but we cannot remember who he is and under what circumstances we could meet him. Such cases are characterized by recognition uncertainty. In other cases, recognition, on the contrary, is characterized by complete certainty: we immediately recognize a person as a specific person. Therefore, these cases are characterized by complete recognition.

It should be noted that there is much in common between definite and indefinite recognition. Both of these variants of recognition unfold gradually, and therefore they are often close to recall, and, consequently, are a complex thought and volitional process.

As well as different types correct recognition, there are errors in recognition. For example, what is perceived for the first time sometimes seems familiar to us, already experienced once in exactly the same form. An interesting fact is that the impression of familiarity can remain even when we know for sure that we have never seen this object or have not been in this situation.

In addition, attention should be paid to another very interesting feature recognition and reproduction. The processes of recognition and reproduction are not always carried out with equal success. Sometimes it happens that we can recognize an object, but we are not able to reproduce it when it is absent. There are cases of the opposite kind: we have some ideas, but we cannot say what they are connected with. For example, we are constantly “chased” by some kind of melody, but we cannot say where it comes from. Most often, we have difficulty reproducing something, and much less often such difficulties occur when recognizing. As a rule, we are able to find out when we cannot reproduce. Thus, we can conclude that recognition is easier than reproduction.

Forgetting is expressed in the inability to restore previously perceived information. The physiological basis of forgetting is some types of cortical inhibition that interferes with the actualization of temporary neural connections. Most often, this is the so-called extinction inhibition, which develops in the absence of reinforcement. Forgetting comes in two main forms:

1. inability to remember or recognize;
2. misremembering or recognition. Between complete recall and complete forgetting, there are different degrees of recall and recognition.

Some researchers call them memory levels". It is customary to distinguish three such levels:

1. replay memory;
2. recognition memory;
3. facilitating memory.

For example, a student has learned a poem. If after a while he can reproduce it without error - this is first level of memory, the tallest; if he cannot reproduce what he has learned by heart, but easily recognizes (recognizes) a poem in a book or by ear - this second level memory; if the student is not able to independently remember or recognize the poem, but when he memorizes it again, it will take him less time to fully reproduce it than the first time, this is third level memory. Thus, the degree of manifestation may vary. In this case, the nature of the manifestation of forgetting can be different. Forgetting can manifest itself in the schematization of the material, the rejection of individual, sometimes significant, parts of it, the reduction of new ideas to familiar old ideas.

It should be noted that forgetting proceeds unevenly over time. The greatest loss of material occurs immediately after its perception, and in the future, forgetting goes more slowly. For example, the experiments of Ebbinghaus, which we discussed in the first section of this chapter, showed that an hour after learning 13 meaningless syllables, forgetting reaches 56%, but in the future it goes more slowly. Moreover, the same pattern is characteristic of forgetting meaningful material. This can be confirmed by an experiment conducted by the American psychologist M. Jones. The experiment boiled down to the following: before the beginning of the lecture on psychology, Jones warned the students that at the end they would receive leaflets with questions on the content of the lecture, to which they had to give written answers. The lecture was delivered at a speed of 75 words per minute, clear and accessible. An outstanding lecturer, invited to compare the data, did almost the same thing: immediately after the lecture, the students reproduced 71% of his main thoughts, and then the perceived material was forgotten: first faster, and then somewhat slower. From this experience, the conclusion follows that if students do not work on fixing the educational material in memory, after two months only 25% of it will remain, and the largest loss (55%) will occur in the first three to four days after perception.

In order to slow down the process of forgetting, it is necessary to organize in a timely manner repetition of perceived material without postponing this work for a long time. This is well confirmed by the studies of M. N. Shardakov. He found that if you do not repeat the received material on the day of receipt, then after a day 74% of the material is stored in memory, after three or four days - 66%, after a month - 58% and after six months - 38%. When repeating the material on the first day, 88% is retained in memory every other day, 84% after three or four days, 70% after a month and 60% after 6 months. If you organize a periodic repetition of the material, then the amount of information stored will be large enough for a considerable time.

Considering various variants of the manifestation of forgetting, one cannot but mention cases when a person cannot remember something at the moment (for example, immediately after receiving information), but remembers or recognizes it after some time. Such a phenomenon is called reminiscences(vague memory). Essence of Reminiscence lies in the fact that the reproduction of material that we could not immediately fully reproduce, a day or two after perception, is replenished with facts and concepts that were absent during the first reproduction of the material. This phenomenon is often observed when reproducing verbal material of a large volume, which is due to the fatigue of nerve cells. Reminiscence is found more often in preschoolers and younger schoolchildren. This phenomenon is much less common in adults.

According to D. I. Krasilnikova, during the reproduction of the material, reminiscence is observed in 74% of preschoolers, in 45.5% of primary schoolchildren and in 35.5% of schoolchildren of the fifth-seventh grades. This is due to the fact that children do not always immediately comprehend the material properly when they perceive it and therefore convey it incompletely. They need a certain period of time to comprehend it, as a result of which the reproduction becomes more complete. If the material is comprehended immediately, then reminiscence does not occur. This explains the fact that the older the students, the less often this phenomenon is observed in their memory.

Other forms of forgetting are mistaken recall and mistaken recognition. It is well known that what we perceive over time loses its brightness and distinctness in recollection, becomes pale and unclear. However, changes in previously perceived material may also be of a different nature, when forgetting is expressed not in the loss of clarity and distinctness, but in a significant discrepancy between what is remembered and what is actually perceived. In this case, we remember not at all what was in reality, since in the process of forgetting a more or less profound restructuring of the perceived material took place, its essential qualitative processing. For example, one such example of recycling would be the erroneous reproduction of a sequence of events over time. So, while clearly reproducing individual events, a person, meanwhile, cannot remember their correct sequence. The main reason for this phenomenon, as shown by the studies of L. V. Zankov, is that in the process of forgetting, random connections in time weaken, and instead of them, essential, internal relations of things (logical connections, similarity of things, etc.) come to the fore. ), which do not always coincide with relationships in time.

Currently, there are known factors that affect the rate of forgetting processes. So, forgetting proceeds faster if the material is not sufficiently understood by the person. In addition, forgetting occurs faster if the material is not interesting to a person, is not directly related to his practical needs. This explains the fact that adults remember better what relates to their profession, what is related to their vital interests, and schoolchildren remember well the material that fascinates them, and quickly forget what does not interest them. The rate of forgetting also depends on the amount of material and the degree of difficulty of its assimilation: the larger the amount of material or the more difficult it is to perceive. the faster it is forgotten. Another factor accelerating the process of forgetting is the negative impact of the activity following memorization. This phenomenon is called retroactive inhibition. So, in an experiment conducted by A. A. Smirnov, a group of schoolchildren were given a series of adjectives for memorization, and immediately after that - a second series of words. After memorizing the second row of words, we checked how many adjectives the children remembered. In another group of schoolchildren, a five-minute break was taken between memorizing the first and second rows of words. It turned out that students who learned a series of words without a break reproduced 25% fewer adjectives than children who had a short break. In another experiment, after learning the names of adjectives, the children were given a series of numbers to memorize. In this case, the reproduction of a number of words fell only by 8%. In the third experiment, after memorizing words, hard mental work went on - the solution of complex arithmetic problems. Reproduction of words decreased by 16%.

Thus, retroactive inhibition is more pronounced if the activity follows without interruption or the subsequent activity is similar to the previous one, and also if the subsequent activity is more difficult than the previous activity. The physiological basis of retroactive inhibition in the latter case is negative induction: a difficult activity inhibited an easier one. This regularity must be kept in mind when organizing educational work. It is especially important to observe breaks in classes, to alternate subjects so that there are significant differences between them - subjects that are difficult to master should be set earlier than easy ones.

Another significant factor influencing the rate of forgetting is age. With age, there is a deterioration in many memory functions. Remembering the material becomes more difficult, and the processes of forgetting, on the contrary, are accelerated.

The main significant causes of forgetting, which go beyond the average values, are various diseases of the nervous system, as well as severe mental and physical trauma (bruises associated with loss of consciousness, emotional trauma). In these cases, a phenomenon called retrograde amnesia sometimes occurs. It is characterized by the fact that forgetting covers the period preceding the event that caused the amnesia. Over time, this period may decrease, and even more so, forgotten events can be fully restored to memory.

Forgetting also comes on faster with mental or physical fatigue. The reason for forgetting may also be the action of extraneous stimuli that prevent us from concentrating on the necessary material, for example, annoying sounds or objects in our field of vision.

imprinting(memorization) - the process of memory, which results in the consolidation of new material, experience through connections with previously acquired experience.

The main conditions for the productivity of memorization are related to whether it proceeds in the form of an involuntary or arbitrary process.

Involuntary memorization- this is a natural memorization without setting specific goals. In involuntary memorization, a close connection between attention and memory is manifested. What gets into the field of attention is involuntarily remembered.

Involuntary memory is affected by:

1. Singularity of objects

2. Effective attitude to memorized material

3. Level of motivation

Rosenweig: there are times when motivation affects the degree of memory strength; sometimes, if the activity is completed, then the material is remembered as firmly (or stronger) as in the case of an unfinished activity.

4. The level of emotional coloring that accompanies the work with the material.

Experiments do not unequivocally confirm what is more remembered: with a positive or negative potential. The dynamics of emotional coloring is important, not the positive or negative coloring of emotion

Arbitrary memorization - specific activity where there is a target. Memorization here loses its meaning without further reproduction.

Here there is arbitrary attention, there is a selection, sorting of information that is significant and significant.

Arbitrary memorization is one of the latest mental processes that form in a person, because remembering here already requires awareness of what is being remembered.

Arbitrary memory can be divided into 2 types:

* direct memorization- simple mechanical imprinting, the material is remembered through repetition. The main mechanism here is associations by adjacency; as a result of repetition, material is imprinted, awareness is not present here. Ebbinghaus: it's "pure memory"

* mediated memorization- here thinking is connected, recoding and decoding occurs during playback. In this case, a system of various, in particular semantic, connections is built. With mediated memorization, insignificant connections can be established, in contrast to thinking. Insignificant connections during memorization are instrumental in nature, they help to reproduce the material. For example, experiments with double stimulation (Vygotsky, Leontiev): pictures and words were presented; "Knot for memory"

Factors that determine productivity, the strength of arbitrary memorization:

The amount of material (the amount of information to memorize). If the number of memorized elements exceeds the volume of perception, then the number of trials required to memorize information increases.

Homogeneity of the material. The degree of similarity reduces the strength of memorization of the material and increases the number of trials required for memorization. This is where the Restorf effect comes into play: regardless of the nature of the material

MNEMOTECHNIQUES

mnemonics- these are specially organized actions that lead to stronger memorization. There are many mnemonics, they can be classified:

Material structuring(when, when working with a specific text, it is structured, divided into parts, blocks, etc.). It is possible to set the structure of the material purely perceptively.

Creation of reference signals, points(not only structuring takes place, but a specific symbol is introduced, and behind it is all the content, all the information): the keyword method, the method of reference notes, the curly diagram method (information is remembered through the introduction of curly symbols), the abbreviation method (memorizing colors: each the hunter wants to know...).

Working with links(manifestation, aggravation, increase in emotionality in the content within the framework of the connection between individual parts, elements, structures). For example, remembering faces, names, surnames through additional connections.

Binding to a subjective landmark(method of places or locus). There is a chain of landmarks to which the main content is attached.

5."Aristotle's method" or preliminary work with memorizing text. Involuntary and voluntary memorization is present in an adult in higher forms. In children, involuntary memorization dominates (they are more efficient, easier to memorize involuntarily).

Topic 2: Memory.

5. Preservation and Forgetting: Patterns and Mechanisms.

Preservation- one of the main processes of memory. To preserve material means to introduce it into various forms of processing. Storing information is mainly related to its organization and retention. The flip side of retention, which manifests itself in reproduction, is forgetting.

Forgetting- this is a loss of information, loss of clarity and a decrease in the amount of material fixed in memory, the inability to reproduce.

n Forms of information organization and its representation:

The conditional concept of "storage" is introduced, these are the forms in which the stored material is clothed. There are 2 options: episodic and semantic storage. Episodic storage - the preservation of specific casts (certain episodes). The main mechanism for the preservation of these episodes is an associative connection, and episodes are strung on a time axis (time is an organizing basis). Semantic storage - preservation of meanings, recoded information; this is the preservation of not a specific image (episode), but a phenomenon (event) in a recoded form, its meaning, meaning, essence. It is in the form of representations, ideas, concepts, categories that information exists in this repository. It is possible to single out 2 meanings of such forms of material preservation: firstly, the amount of information is sharply reduced (a generalization is made: insignificant - ignored, important - remains); secondly, we get constructions that are applicable for recognition. There are 5 ways to organize information in a repository:

1) spatial organization (connections are established through spatial characteristics, reference points in the physical world - “cognitive maps”);

2) temporary organization (establishment of temporary links: past, present and future. This allows you to organize information for storage);

3) linear organization (ordering information in a linear sequence. Example, alphabet);

4) associative organization (on the basis of connection according to certain properties, characteristics. Another concept is associatively attached to a certain concept. Category, etc.);

5) hierarchical organization (the material is built according to species, generic characteristics).

You can also designate the repository in the form of 3 zones (stored material according to the degree of proximity to awareness):

1. actual material that is often used (active vocabulary, actual facts that are needed here and now: names, motor forms, etc.) - such material is easy to represent;

2. the material that is rarely used, but we are able to reproduce it if necessary;

3. unconscious level (information is deposited here that is more related to the events of my life. Such material is very difficult to represent, but under certain conditions we can remember this information, for example, hypnosis).

n Forgetting (its dynamics and meaning):

Information is not lost immediately, but there is a certain, gradual change in the stored material. The first results were obtained by Ebbinghaus (memorization of meaningless words); he got the "forgetting curve". This curve characterizes the process of forgetting meaningless material (the maximum of information is lost during the first hour after memorization (60-70%)), and after 9 hours - almost no forgetting occurs.

Pierron tried to analyze forgetting already on meaningful material: the curve repeats its general dynamics, but in terms of volume, meaningful material is remembered more and the maximum loss of information also occurs during the first hour.

Forgetting is especially intense immediately after memorization. This pattern is common, although meaningful visual or verbal material is forgotten more slowly than, for example, consecutive numbers or meaningless syllables. The presence of interest in the memorized material leads to its longer preservation; material related to the needs, goals, actions of a person is forgotten more slowly (the Zeigarnik effect: completed and unfinished actions), and much of what is of particular importance for a given subject is not forgotten at all. The main content of the material is most fully and firmly preserved, minor details are forgotten faster. In this regard, the material stored in memory becomes more and more generalized, schematic in time.

Forgetting is of particular importance, because all the information that we receive in the course of our lives cannot fit in memory. Little significant, unimportant information should “make room” for new, more significant and important information. For an example of the practical absence of forgetting, one can recall a person named Sh. (A.R. Luria “A Little Book of Great Memory”), who memorized everything and who had difficulty forgetting unnecessary information. What is forgotten, as a rule, is something that has not acquired or lost vital importance for a person and does not play a role in his activities in the future.

n The phenomenon of reminiscence. Hypotheses for explaining reminiscence:

In the course of the study of preservation and forgetting, a very important fact was revealed. It turned out that in the next interval (2-3 days, or even more) after the initial reproduction of the material, a sharp decrease in reproduction is not always observed (as according to Ebbinghaus).

Reminiscence is a delayed reproduction of what was originally (during direct reproduction) temporarily forgotten (not reproduced). That is, over time, playback does not deteriorate, but improves.

A study of preschoolers was conducted: children are not able to reproduce the story immediately after listening, but over time, the content of the story was restored in their memory, and the children reproduced it. Consequently, the study, having established the fact of reminiscence, revealed a number of reasons that cause it:

1) reminiscence is especially pronounced in preschoolers, because the nature of the delayed reproduction is due to the action of emotional inhibition, immediately following the affectively experienced impression;

2) reminiscence is associated with inner work understanding the material and mastering it.

But this required further clarification, so a special study of reminiscence was set up (D.I. Krasilshchikova). Results:

1. In the process of direct reproduction, the subject tries to restore the material, using external associative connections, and in the case of delayed reproduction, semantic connections.

2. age dependence: in preschoolers, compared with older students and adults, reminiscence is the most striking and frequent manifestation. This is due to the different nature and level of primary reproduction of the material being memorized. Children more directly perceive the memorized material.

3 more explanations for delayed playback:

1) forgetting does not occur over time, because there is an unconscious repetition of information;

2) there is a consolidation of traces (structural changes in the brain substrate);

3) the fatigue that has arisen after the memorized material is removed.

n Forgetting mechanisms:

1) there is a trace fading and information is lost through this fading. Time is the main factor (the more time passes, the greater the fade). But experiments disprove this:

2 groups of subjects, you need to remember 10-20 words; 1 group memorizes in the evening, and reproduces in the morning; Group 2 remembers in the morning and reproduces in the morning. Conclusion: memorization efficiency is higher in the 1st group, so time is not a fundamental factor. Not time is the forgetting factor, but what happens at that time.

2) forgetting, as an exception to the overload of consciousness: the postulate of a limited ability to consciously reproduce information is introduced. Therefore, more relevant information crowds out less relevant information. Forgetting is an important mechanism that ensures the productive work of consciousness.

n The phenomenon of interference:

Interference is a mixture of one information with another, some memory schemes with others; it is a kind of overwriting of one information by another. Interference occurs with the greater probability, the higher the combined requirements of cognitive and executive processes to a limited amount of attention.

The negative role of interference in the reproduction of material: most often, interference occurs when the same memories are associated in memory with the same events and their appearance in consciousness gives rise to the simultaneous recall of competing (interfering) events. Interference often occurs when another material is learned instead of one, especially at the memorization stage, where the first material has not yet been forgotten, and the second is not well learned, for example, when words are memorized foreign language, some of which have not yet been deposited in long-term memory, while others are beginning to be studied at the same time.

n Factors Influencing Information Repression:

1) time (less than an hour it takes to forget half of the rote material)

Age (temporal characteristic): fundamentally new information is poorly remembered by an adult and an elderly person, and it is easier for children and young people;

2) the degree of use of information (the information that is actively and often used is less forgotten. What is forgotten is what there is no constant need and need);

3) interference (superposition of one information on another);

4) the work of the protective mechanisms of our psyche, which displace traumatic impressions from consciousness into the subconscious. Therefore, something that disturbs the psychological balance and causes constant negative tension is forgotten.

6. Recognition and reproduction:

n Recognition and its meaning:

Recognition is one of the types of reproduction, where information is restored during repeated perception. Recognition is based on the operation of comparing the present impression with the corresponding memory traces. These traces act in the process of comparison as standards of identification features of a perceived object or phenomenon. The significance of recognition lies in the fact that it performs the function of linking experience (memory traces) with a specific perceived object. The process of recognition lies on the border of 3 mental processes: perception, memory and thinking.

There are 2 forms of recognition: voluntary and involuntary. Most often, recognition is realized in an involuntary form, that is, natural recognition without setting specific goals (tasks).

n Theories explaining the mechanisms of recognition:

1) recognition by copies (standards are stored in the form of integral images (pictures), therefore, when we perceive an object, we compare it with this integral image);

2) the theory of prototypes (images are presented as standards that have a schematic representation and the main thing is captured in it. Example: 2 letters "A", but one is printed, and the second is capital - in principle, this is one letter, but it has 2 types);

3) the theory of signs (there is a division of the general image into separate elements and the combination of these elements gives us identification with specific images)

Model "Pandemonium" (a combination of demons), proposed by Selfridge. Demons are some mental functions that perform certain operations (but it is not clear how they do it). See model diagram in account. course " General psychology: memory" .

n Arbitrary and involuntary reproduction:

Reproduction is one of the processes of memory, as a result of which the previously fixed experience, content is actualized: thoughts, images, feelings, movements.

In the process of reproduction, information is not only reproduced, but also formed, since the speech formulation of the semantic content forms this content itself. Distinguish between voluntary and involuntary reproduction. In the first case, past impressions are recalled without a special task of updating them. They pop up in memory usually by association with cash thoughts, images, experiences and actions.

Arbitrary reproduction occurs in connection with a conscious setting for the actualization of certain traces of memory. The impetus is a thought, an idea that takes the form of a task, a goal.

Reproduction differs from recognition in that there is no need for repeated perception for reproduction to occur - here a push is needed: a goal, a task to remember something.

n The nature of the deformation of the material during playback:

The reproduction of the material, as a rule, comes with certain changes (reconstruction): it is possible to generalize the material, move parts (the general organization changes), the loss of "insignificant" pieces of information, the addition of something, etc. Reconstruction of the reproduced material occurs as a result of its mental processing. Thought is included in the reproduction process, clarifying, generalizing, systematizing, processing and reconstructing the content. , it is associated with rethinking.

n Remembrance as reproduction with the participation of the will:

Recall is a prerequisite for reproduction and its result. This is reproduction with extra effort. It is an attempt to capture the essential feature, which is the key. Depending on the nature of the reference points (“key”), recollection can take place either as a transition from separate parts to the whole, or from the meaning of the whole to separate parts.

Recall is a boundary process between memory and thinking: memory reproduces the past, and thinking restores this past, indirectly, through inferences that are intertwined in this process in an inseparable unity. This reproduction is a conscious reconstruction of the past, in which the mental work of comparison, inference, and verification plays an essential role.

7. Memory development:

n Formation of memory by individual modalities:

As the individual socializes, changes occur in the development of memory. With early childhood The process of developing a child's memory goes in several directions: firstly, mechanical memory is gradually supplemented and replaced by logical memory. Secondly, over time, direct memorization turns into indirect memorization, associated with the active and conscious use of various mnemonic tools and techniques for memorization and reproduction. Thirdly, involuntary memorization, which dominates in childhood, in an adult turns into an arbitrary one. In general, two genetic lines can be distinguished in the development of memory: its improvement in all civilized people, without exception, as social progress progresses, and its gradual improvement in a single individual in the process of his socialization, familiarization with the material and cultural achievements of mankind.

n Hypothesis of P.P. Blonsky about the types of memory as phylogenetic steps:

Blonsky made a significant contribution to understanding the phylogenetic development of memory. He expressed and developed the idea that the different types of memory presented in an adult are also different stages of its historical development, and, accordingly, they can be considered phylogenetic stages of memory improvement. This refers to the following sequence of types of memory: motor, affective, figurative and logical. P.P. Blonsky expressed and substantiated the idea that in the history of the development of mankind these types of memory consistently appeared one after another. Based on the fact that in phylogenesis and ontogenesis all these types of memory appear one after the other in the above sequence, Blonsky erroneously considers them as different stages or levels of memory.

The identification of types of memory with its genetic stages is based on an erroneous concept of the development of the psyche. It is assumed that at one stage, memory seems to be determined by emotions, at another - only by images, at the third - by speech and thinking, thus emotions belong to one stage of development, images - to another, to the third - speech and thinking, divorced from emotions and sensory content of images. The highest step is only superficially built on top of the preceding lower ones; the latter are not rebuilt and are not included in the higher one.

In fact, the development of the psyche consists in the development of all functions, and each of them is rebuilt in connection with the development of all aspects of the psyche (since all its manifestations interpenetrate each other). Emotions at a higher level are intellectualized and from primitive affects - phenomena of the "lower level" - pass into higher feelings; thoughts become emotionally charged. In the psyche of a particular living person, everything is in contact, movement, interpenetration. The same functions and the same types of memory function at different levels. Therefore, they cannot be identified with the levels of memory and assigned to the lower level at which they first appeared.

Blonsky's theory is based on an incorrect erroneous concept of development; it does not take into account the fact that the emergence of a new stage of development means not just its superstructure over the previous stages, but the restructuring of the latter.

n Features of children's memory (P.P. Blonsky):

In ontogenesis, all types of memory are formed in a child quite early and in a certain sequence. The very first in time is motor (motor) memory; it precedes all other types of memory in genetic terms. Affective memory begins to manifest itself about 6 months from birth. Figurative memory - in the 2nd year of life, but it reaches its highest point only by adolescence. Logical memory - in 3-4 years, but in relatively elementary forms; reaches a normal level of development only in adolescence and youth. Its improvement and further improvement is connected with teaching a person the basics of science.

Features of children's memory: 1) photographic (the child's memory works like a photo: it takes what is in the "picture", changes in perception are minimal)

2) great imagery (the development of fantasy and the dynamism of the imagination - contribute to the emergence of many images)

3) ease of memorization (dominance of mechanical, involuntary memory; the child does not make special efforts to memorize).

n Replacement of mechanical memory with semantic:

It is impossible to deny the presence of semantic memory in a child, but mechanical memory dominates until adolescence. The development of semantic memory is influenced by the social environment (an adult helps to transfer the material for comprehension).

In children of younger and middle to school age mechanical memory is well developed: they easily remember and effortlessly reproduce what they saw or heard, but only if it aroused their interest and the children themselves were interested in remembering or recalling something. Thanks to such a memory, preschoolers quickly improve their speech, orient themselves well in the environment, recognize what they saw or heard. With the help of mechanical repetitions of information, the children of the older preschool age can remember it well. They have the first signs of semantic memorization.

From 6 to 14 years old, mechanical memory for unrelated logical units of information actively develops. But logical memory lags behind in its development, since the child at this time completely manages with mechanical memory. Only in adolescence begins the replacement of mechanical memory with semantic one (in high school, new academic subjects appear, therefore, the amount of information that needs to be remembered increases, so mechanical memory is no longer an assistant here, it is necessary to connect thinking to memorization, comprehend, understand the essence of the material and then it will be easier to remember). During this period, the development of mechanical memory slows down.

n The ratio of voluntary and involuntary memorization in development. The theory of development of involuntary memorization L.S. Vygotsky:

Children under 5 do not have a memorization mindset. And only starting from the age of 5, arbitrary memory appears and forms. The development of memory in preschool age is characterized by a gradual transition from involuntary to voluntary memorization. In children 3-4 years old, memorization and reproduction in natural conditions are involuntary, that is, without special education mnemonic operations. Children 5-6 years old are able to memorize or recall something consciously, but often these actions for remembering are simple repetition. By the end of preschool age (6-7 years), the process of arbitrary memorization can be considered formed. Its internal psychological sign is the child's desire to discover and use logical connections in the material for memorization. The transition from involuntary to voluntary memorization includes 2 stages:

1) the necessary motivation is formed (the desire to remember or recall something);

2) the mnemonic actions and operations necessary for this arise and are improved.

Improving voluntary memory in preschoolers is closely related to setting them special mnemonic tasks for memorizing, preserving and reproducing material. In adolescence, various types of memory are actively developing, including arbitrary.

But most of what we remember in life is remembered by us involuntarily, without special knowledge. intentions.

L.S. Vygotsky considered historical development memory and believed that the improvement of human memory in phylogeny proceeded mainly along the line of improving the means of memorization. Developing historically, man developed more and more perfect means of memorization, the most important of which is writing. Thanks to various forms of speech - oral, written, external and internal - a person turned out to be able to subordinate memory to his will, reasonably control the course of memorization, manage the process of storing and reproducing information. Therefore, the memorization, preservation and reproduction of material is explained by what a person does with this material in the process of its mnemonic processing. L.S. Vygotsky also emphasizes the role of adults who influence the child through speech, and the child, in turn, receives the means by which he then masters his own mental process.

n Development of mediated memory:

A.N. Leontiev experimentally showed how direct memorization is gradually replaced by indirect memorization with age. This happens due to the child's assimilation of more perfect stimuli-means of memorizing and reproducing material. The development of stimuli-memory tools occurs as follows: at first they act as external (tying knots for memory, using various objects for remembering, etc.), then they become internal (feeling, association, representation, image, thought). Speech plays a central role in the formation of internal means of memorization. Consequently, the transition from externally mediated to internally mediated memorization is closely connected with the transformation of speech from an external function into an internal one. Based on the experiments, Leontiev deduced a curve for the development of direct and indirect memorization - a “parallelogram of memory development”:

In preschool children, direct memorization improves with age and its development is faster than the development of mediated memorization; the gap in the productivity of memorization data in favor of the direct one is also widening. Starting from school age, there is a process of simultaneous development of direct and indirect memorization, and then a more rapid improvement of mediated memory. In an adult, mainly mediated memorization. For the development of memory, it is important to develop a set of tools (the more tools, the better the material is remembered).

Speech plays a significant role in the development of memory, so the process of improving a person’s memory goes hand in hand with the development of his speech.

n Patterns of memory changes in old age:

Majority mental functions in old age, they change, degrade, their “sharpness” decreases . And memory is no exception. Memory processes are deteriorating: new information is remembered very poorly, there is practically no storage of material in memory, as for the process of reproducing information, there is a paradox here: older people easily and in detail recall long-past events, childhood impressions, etc., but and it is also easy to forget what they have just heard or seen. The amount of memory decreases, the number of memorized units of information becomes smaller. In old age, senile sclerosis occurs (relevant information is lost, it cannot be remembered for a long time).

8. Psychophysiology of memory and learning:

n Structural and functional foundations of memory:

All types of memory are provided by the cortex and subcortical structures. Memory is regulated by 2 brain systems: specific (different areas of the cortex) and nonspecific (reticular formation, associative nuclei of the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, frontal lobes of the cortex).

Memorization occurs in several stages:

1) the formation of an engram (memory traces) in sensory systems (this is the appearance of signals in receptors, their conduction along pathways, entry into the cortical region, the formation of sensations). At this stage, sensory memory functions.

2) the work of short-term memory simultaneously with the receipt of information in the cortical department, there is a release of information new to the body. This is done through the limbic system of the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays an important role at this stage, since information is classified and encoded in it, in addition, it is involved in the extraction of memory traces during excitation.

3) fixation of information that is important for the individual, that is, it goes into intermediate (operational) and long-term memory. This process occurs in the cortex on the basis of conditioned reflex mechanisms.

The engram is written in the cortex; when areas of the cortex are removed or damaged, traces of memory disappear, visual, auditory and other types of amnesia occur. On the contrary, with electrical stimulation of certain areas of the cortex, figurative memories arise. The reticular formation, by exciting the cortex, improves the emergence of interneuronal temporary connections and stimulates the extraction of information from it.

n The phenomenon of a wide distribution of the trace in the brain:

Lashley conducted experiments with animals (he removed certain parts of the cerebral cortex and looked at what skills remained). Conclusion: no specific zones were found, the entire space of the brain was responsible for the preservation of traces (that is, the absence of a single center, it is “smeared” over the entire surface).

Other studies suggest that there are separate structures that are responsible for the preservation of traces - the hippocampus. With its defeat, a person ceases to assimilate new things, while a violation of other structures does not give this.

Another point of view: the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex are responsible for the preservation of memory traces, since when the temporal lobes were damaged, the subjects experienced long-forgotten events; images that were difficult to remember surfaced, some images replaced others.

On the whole, we can draw the following conclusion: the traces are stored in the part of the brain that is currently involved in the formation of a complex of conditioned reflexes. The more extensive the damage to the brain, the more severe its effects on memory. There were doubts about the existence of a localized memory center, a number of psychologists unequivocally argued that the entire brain should be considered an organ of memory.

n Cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory:

The formation of memory traces is based on several processes:

1) reverberation - continuous circulation of nerve impulses through closed circuits of neurons.

2) synoptic potentiation is the amplification of signals in the synapse when a series of successive nerve impulses passes through it.

It has now been established that in the process of memory and learning, not only the property of synapses changes, but also the membrane of neurons of their intracellular structure. It has been established that with prolonged stimulation of neuron membranes, their excitability increases. Another way of forming an engram may lie through the coding of individual experience in RNA, DNA and proteins of neurons. It was found that the main role in fixing the membrane belongs to DNA, and RNA serves only to transfer encoded information to DNA.

It is believed that changes in the properties of synapses, neuronal membranes, enzyme systems, and the genetic apparatus play a major role in the mechanisms of memory and learning.

In the formation of memory traces, a large role belongs to the hippocampus, which is located in the limbic system of the brain. The hippocampus classifies and encodes all signals that must be registered in long-term memory; it also provides the extraction and reproduction of the necessary information.

n Footprint Consolidation Hypothesis:

At the beginning of the century, there was a dual hypothesis regarding the mechanisms of preservation of memory traces. The psychological and physiological aspects of the preservation of traces were connected - the hypothesis of trace consolidation: remembering, storing information are structural changes in the brain substrate and consolidation are separate changes over time (that is, it takes time for these changes to occur). The more consolidation there is, the more durable the material is retained. Facts to support this:

1) experiments related to the action of electric shock: if you develop a skill in an animal, and after its development (after 1 hour), give an email. shock - the skill was lost (the consolidation was interrupted by electric shock). If more time passed, there was more room for saving.

2) the use of various drugs (chemicals) to improve memorization.

3) clinical studies: head injuries (post-traumatic amnesias) lead to forgetting of previous events, therefore, trauma is a factor that destroys consolidation.

n Hypothesis of closed neural circuits:

This hypothesis answers the question, what physiological units are involved in the consolidation? She says that certain circuits arise from neurons that retain a certain activity (reverb) and each circuit is responsible for a certain trace. Consolidation is the formation of such chains. But if the impact of e. shock - the trace is not saved.

n Hypotheses of the mechanism of storing information in long-term memory:

A feature of long-term memory is the practically unlimited storage time of the material and the unlimited amount of information retained. The main mechanism for entering and consolidating information in long-term memory is repetition. Semantic coding of incoming messages is carried out in long-term memory. Through associative links, the elements of long-term memory form a certain structural organization. Recovery from long-term memory is carried out through associative search.

Hypothesis D.O. Hebb: long-term storage is based on stable morphofunctional changes

Introduction

Chapter 2

2.2 Modern techniques and methods of memorization

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Throughout human history, people have tried to come up with ways in which they could acquire any knowledge as firmly as possible. Since ancient times, the topic and technique of memorization has occupied inquisitive minds, was considered and systematized by the great people of the past. A special term appeared, borrowed from Greek - mnemonics, meaning the art of memorization.

The volume of general and professional knowledge in the world has increased over last century many times over in previous years. At the same time, there is an increasing increase in it, constant replenishment with an increasing amount of new information. Therefore, the development of memory, the improvement of the processes of memorization, preservation and reproduction of information is one of the most urgent tasks of a person in modern society. The study and application of certain methods, techniques and methods of memorization significantly contributes to the qualitative and quantitative improvement of memorization and retention of the necessary information in memory.

The knowledge of these techniques is especially important for students and schoolchildren, since the assimilation of educational material, general educational or special information is the main area of ​​their activity. And without the ability to process, analyze, assimilate, systematize and firmly retain in memory what has been studied, the learning process will lose all meaning for them.

Mastering the techniques of memorizing information is one of the issues of familiarization with the forms and methods scientific organization teaching students, develops their skills in working with educational and scientific literature, contributes to the successful mastering of the knowledge necessary for educational and research activities.

The purpose of this abstract is to review the theoretical and practical advice to improve the memorization mechanism by applying certain methods and techniques.

Chapter 1

1.1 Memory as the basis of human mental activity

Our memory is based on associations - connections between individual events, facts, objects or phenomena reflected and fixed in our minds.

"Memory is a reflection of a person's past experience, manifested in remembering, preserving and then recalling what he perceived, did, felt or thought about."

The forms of manifestation of memory are very diverse. Their classification was based on three criteria: the object of memorization, the degree of volitional control of memory, and the duration of information storage in it.

According to the object of memory, they distinguish figurative, which includes visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and taste memory; verbal-logical expressed in thoughts, concepts, verbal formulations; motor, also called motor or kinesthetic; emotional, the memory of the experienced feelings.

According to the degree of volitional regulation, goals and methods of memorization, memory is divided into involuntary(without a previously set goal to remember) and arbitrary(stretched by an effort of will).

According to the degree of duration of information storage, memory is divided into short-term, acting only a few minutes; long-term, characterized by the relative duration and strength of the perceived material and operational, which stores information only for the time necessary to perform an operation. The object of this work is the verbal-logical long-term arbitrary memory, which is the basis of successful education at the university.

Depending on how successfully a person remembers information, visual (visual), auditory (auditory), motor (kinesthetic) and mixed (visual-auditory, visual-motor, auditory-motor) types of memory are distinguished.

1.2 Memorization, its features

Memory as a mental activity is subdivided into the processes of memorization, preservation/forgetting, reproduction and recognition. Memorization is the establishment of a connection between the new and what is already in the human mind, "the consolidation of those images and impressions that arise in the mind under the influence of objects and phenomena of reality in the process of sensation and perception".

Memorization can be involuntary (random) or arbitrary (purposeful). Arbitrary memorization is ranked according to the degree of accuracy of the future reproduction of the material. In some cases, only the general meaning, the essence of thoughts, is remembered and reproduced. In other cases, it is necessary to memorize and reproduce the exact, literal verbal expression of thoughts (rules, definitions, etc.). Memorizing the meaning is memorizing the general and essential aspects of the educational material and distracting from irrelevant details and features. The selection of the essential depends on the understanding of the material itself, on what is the most important and significant in it, and what is secondary. It is closely connected with the processes of thinking, with the mental development of a person, with the stock of his knowledge. Memorization - a variant of the highest fidelity of reproduction with arbitrary memorization - in educational process used especially frequently. It implies "systematic, planned, specially organized memorization using certain techniques."

Reproduction of verbal material without understanding its meaning is not logical, but mechanical memorization, memorization of individual parts of the material without relying on the semantic connection between them. Material memorized mechanically, without sufficient understanding, is subject to more rapid forgetting ". "Meaningful (semantic) memorization is based on understanding the meaning, awareness of relationships and internal logical connection both between parts of the memorized material, and between this material and previous knowledge ".

Chapter 2

2.1 The emergence and development of mnemonics

Most of human history took place before the advent of writing. In primitive communities, the memory of the lives of individuals, the history of families and tribes was transmitted orally. What was not kept in individual memory or transmitted in the process of oral communication was forever forgotten. In such unliterate cultures, memory was subject to constant exercise, and memories were subject to preservation and renewal. Therefore, the art of memory was especially important in the pre-literate periods of human history. So priests, shamans, storytellers had to memorize huge amounts of knowledge. Special people- elders, bards - became the guardians of social culture, able to retell epic narratives that capture the history of any society.

Even after the advent of writing, the art of memorization has not lost its relevance. A very small number of books, the high cost of writing materials, the large mass and volume of the written book - all this encouraged memorizing the text. A system of techniques that improve the use of memory - the so-called mnemonics - apparently, has independently arisen and developed more than once in many cultures.

The first texts on mnemonics known to us were created by the ancient Greeks, although in written sources the first mention of it belongs to the Romans. The treatise "De oratore" ("On the speaker") by the Roman statesman and writer Cicero contains the first mention of mnemonics. Cicero attributes the discovery of the rules of memorization to the poet Simonides, who lived in the fifth century BC. This first technique suggested keeping in mind a picture of some places and placing mental images of memorized objects in these places. As a result, the order of places will preserve the order of items. In such mnemotechnical systems, memories are stored by "binding" them to elements of a well-known environment - usually a house with its rooms, and objects to be memorized are mentally placed along the chain of such elements. After that, they are easy to remember if the speaker follows this chain with his "inner vision", moving from one element to another. Another Latin text by an unknown author entitled "Ad Herennium" defines memory as a lasting preservation, assimilation by the mind of objects, words and their relative position. This text is about how to choose images that, among other things, can give an idea of ​​the organization of remembered objects.

The art of memorization was also developed by medieval monks who had to memorize a huge amount of liturgical texts. In the Middle Ages, it was mainly reduced to the methods of memorizing numbers and letters. It was believed that it was enough to memorize a sequence of drawings or inscriptions arranged in a circle, easily perceived by the eye, in order to recall the order of prayers or a list of vices and virtues on occasion. From the 14th century, the place of "recording" of remembered images began to be likened to a theater - a special "memory theater" with symbolic sculptures similar to the statues of the ancient Roman forum, at the base of which objects to be memorized could be placed.

Books on mnemonics were written by Giordano Bruno. In his testimony to the tribunal of the Inquisition, he talks about his book called "On the Shadows of Ideas", which told about his mnemonic techniques. In his hands, theaters of memory became a means of classifying and comprehending the essence of the universe and nature, models of heaven and hell.

AT scientific world memorization is carried out mainly through analogy, especially in the exact sciences. We try to understand the unknown by comparing it with what we already know. So, Rutherford in his theory compared electrons moving in orbits around the atomic nucleus with planets circling the Sun. Here the analogy is needed only in order to create a clear visual image.