Imagery

Using Imagery

I am very verbal (not surprising!), but that doesn’t mean images, albeit not particularly vivid ones, aren’t being formed in my mind. What I find works best for me, and probably what will work best for most of you, if you’re not at the extreme ends of visualization ability, is the use of both words and images. That is, when you’re using a verbal mnemonic, aim for words that are easy to visualize; when you’re using a visual mnemonic, make sure the pictures have associated word labels, and keep them in mind while you’re imagining the picture.

Most mnemonic strategies , despite being usually described as ‘visual’ or ‘verbal’, do in fact combine both aspects, and you may emphasize the visual or the verbal aspect as suits you.

It is usually emphasized that bizarre images are remembered much better, but there is no clear evidence for this. Indeed in many studies ordinary images are remembered slightly better. One of the problems is that people usually find it harder to create bizarre images. Unless you have a natural talent for thinking up bizarre images, it is probably not worth bothering about.

Whether bizarre or not, images generally take longer to construct than verbal phrases. If you want to construct them ‘on the fly’, as you hear information in conversation or in a presentation like a lecture, then you need to have practiced the skill a great deal.

The critical point to remember is that images , and words, work well as mnemonics only to the extent that they are bound together. Thus,an image needs to be interactive — tying the bits of information tightly together.

Don’t worry if you’re not sure exactly what this means !

       Remember:

Images are effective to the extent that they link information.

Images are not inherently superior to words.

Bizarre images are not necessarily better recalled than common ones.

Effective images involve the elements interacting with each other.