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An imagery mnemonic for the learning of people's names
Author(s) -
Morris Peter E.,
Jones Susan,
Hampson Peter
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1978.tb01663.x
Subject(s) - mnemonic , psychology , recall , face (sociological concept) , mental image , cognitive psychology , feature (linguistics) , communication , cognitive science , artificial intelligence , linguistics , cognition , neuroscience , computer science , philosophy
Since the failure to remember the name of a person to whom one has been introduced can be embarrassing, methods of improving the recall of names to faces are desirable. As a means of learning names Lorayne (1958) suggests a mnemonic technique the effectiveness of which was tested in the present experiment. Lorayne's method involves first converting the name to be retained into an easily imaged form. For example, Fishter can be made into fish stir and be imaged as a fish stirring and Gorden can become garden. The next step involves choosing a prominent feature of the person's face, and linking the image of the name to it. Thus, if Mr Gorden has a large nose an image could be formed of a garden growing over his nose. When recall of the name is required the face should recall the image, the image cue the substitute form of the name, and this, in turn leads to a recall of the appropriate name. Lorayne maintains that his mnemonic system enables him to perform impressive stage demonstrations of memory for names. For example, he reports being able to name almost 400 people in 7 min (Lorayne & Lucas, 1976, p. 77). The method may seem bizarre, but it incorporates mnemonic techniques which have been shown experimentally to be powerful aids to memory in verbal learning experiments (e.g. Bower, 1970; Morris & Stevens, 1974).