--Original published at Rickster's Psychology Blog

I always wondered why it was so easy to remember a song or funny joke rather than some information I for a class. I have several different theories about this.

At least for me, I always seemed to remember things when I needed to know them. I always remember I thought was important. I have almost perfect memory when it comes to do with my hobbies or in a serious moment. I would be able to remember how to take apart an engine after doing it one time but remembering algebraic equations or the ATP cycle would take an eternity for me to learn because I don’t see those pieces of information as important or I don’t seeing myself using those pieces of information in everyday life.

Another theory I have about memory is when your trying to remember something which involves all 5 senses, taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell. It maybe because of my adhd but I’m unsure.

I think everyone can remember where they were when they heard about 911 because I think most of their peers asked them the same question for a month after it occurred so it was well ingrained into their heads.

I think we can study powerful memories by asking people about 911 while in an FMRI machine. Then we could ask them what they had for breakfast last week. We could view what parts of the brain are activated during a powerful memory and short term memory.

--Original published at olivyahvanek

I think that when certain things happen in people’s lives, they can either be traumatic in a good way or in a bad way, and this is why these memories stick with people so well compared to smaller things that had happened in their lives. Memories can pop up into people’s heads at odd times, like when something happens that reminds them of the memory, or they smell, see, or hear something that reminds them of something that had happened in the past.

I think that there are some memories that stick more in peoples heads compared to others because these tend to be events that had a large impact in someone’s life. These memories are always something that easily pop up in people’s heads because they are memories that were traumatic to people earlier in their lives.

People remember things such as the assassination of John F Kennedy, and what they were doing on September 11, 2001 because these were traumatic events that changed their lives, one way or another. These events have stayed scarred in their brains because they were events that essentially changed their lives, just like other memories that people easily remember or constantly think about.

A study that could be performed to test how accurate this theory is would be to survey people about what their most prominent memory is and then that could be tested to see whether or not this event had impacted their lives in a major way or not. This test would show how these memories affect people’s lives and what kind of memories are affecting people the most.

--Original published at Noah'sPSY105blog

I will be one of the first people to admit that my study habits are most definitely not the most effective. I tend to get distracted fairly easily when I am trying to study for tests, so this makes it somewhat difficult to retain the information that I am trying to study. However, the times that I decide that I truly need to sit down and give my material my undivided attention, I make sure that I turn off most of my electronics to reduce any unnecessary distractions. Other times, I make sure that I put headphones in and either play music very softly or I may not even play music at all just so I can block out any loud noises that may be occurring outside. This would have to be one of the strongest parts of my studying, until something inevitably breaks my concentration

I would say one of the things that I do best whilst studying, is know the different terms that are important on the test because I make sure that I go through and re-read the notes that I have taken, and the material within the book. One of the things I struggle with is making sure that I do some of the practice problems or tests that are provided to help us study.

For the first test, I almost exclusively went back over the notes that I had taken. I had only briefly looked over the material outlined within the book, and I only took one of each practice test. For the next test, I would like to not only go back over the notes that I had taken previously, but I would also like to do more of the practice tests and also make sure that I read over the material within the book several times as well.

--Original published at Sherika's Psych Blog

There are moments, events in time in which an entire generation of people can collectively remember what they were doing at the time. Ask anyone what they were doing when Neil Armstrong’s walk upon the moon was being broadcasted to an entire nation. But what causes us to remember these types of events that had a bigger impact on us than say remembering what we ate for breakfast?

Well, my personally theory is that because certain events have a lasting impact on the world whether that be the development of technology or advancing the current sciences that we have these events have a profound impact. What about events that don’t impact society but are personal? Well, good or bad, those events leave a sort of mental hand print on memories. Whether it’s someone having their first child or more traumatic memories like witnessing combat in a war zone. These events must have been so influential in who we are as people that it stimulates activity or increases activity in our hippocampus. The part of our brain that deals with memories. A way to test this theory out is to run MRIs of a population within a study; have people re-jog their memories of an influential time they can remember and see if there’s an increased spike of activity in the hippocampus.

--Original published at Courtney's College Blog

Throughout middle school and high school, I have established several studying techniques that work for me. An essential one is that I take notes from the lecture, take notes from the book, then compile the information in to a master study guide. This is my first college course, so this is helping me to organize a large sum of material, that I did not have in high school. If the exam has much vocabulary, I utilize flash cards. These really help me because I have to produce the definition without context. If I can produce the definitions without context, it makes me more confident when I enter an exam. For processes like action potential and synapse, I like to draw out the steps. It takes away the complexity of understanding something abstract, since I have a visual guide. These methods have helped me throughout high school, but there are several things I need to improve on before I am a full time college student.

Sometimes I focus too much on specific information, I forget to analyze the big picture. This happened to be in my Anatomy and Physiology course last spring. Although I impressed my teacher with specific details and definitions, they were not necessary to understanding the process as a whole. Another studying flaw that I have is studying in the wrong environment. I have a busy schedule, so I like to spend time around my family, even if I am just simply studying in their presence. My brothers are 15 and 12, so this environment can get loud, and I would be better off studying in a quiet space like my bedroom. Relating to my busy schedule, many times I find myself studying at extreme hours of the night. Since I am extremely tired, I am not very productive in my studying. Because this course is online and mostly at your own pace, it has helped me combat this flaw. I need to learn to combat this flaw before my 8am biology lecture in the fall.

For the first exam, I compiled my notes from the lectures and the textbook to create a massive study guide. It was essential for me to include examples for different topics. For example, I put an example of a case study in my study guide so I can further understand what that research method is. I got ahead of schedule for the first exam so I could spend an entire day reading over my notes and going through my flashcards. One thing I. would change is that I studied in a loud environment. For the next exam, I will find a quieter space to focus on the material. I will definitely implement these strategies for the next exam.

--Original published at JVershinski's Blog

I think that some memories are much stronger than others because of the frequency of them. Everyday things such as getting into a car or waking up from sleep seem so ordinary, so we just disregard them as simple things that will continue to happen as long as we live. If something strange were to happen to one of these ordinary events though, it would suddenly have a lasting impact. For example, if you wake up one day and your bed is covered in blood, that memory will be stronger and more vivid than the day before when you woke up and everything was normal. Events like 9/11 are very rare occurrences, so when they do happen it becomes a very strong memory. Another good example is family deaths. Only one family member can pass away once, so when it happens it becomes a prominent memory.

I think the only way to study how accurate these memories are would be to interview people who have remembered an important event. The problem with this is, though, it would be very difficult to compare the memories to what actually happened. Take 9/11 for example. Many people say they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing at the time they heard of it. However, if that person was alone at the time of 9/11, how would you confirm that they were doing what they said they were? There’s nobody to validate what the person said is true. I think it would be an interesting thing to do, but a lot of problems would come up while trying to verify a person’s memory.