title: Effects of instruction on learners' ability to generate an effective pathway in the method of loci.
abstract: One of the most effective mnemonic techniques is the well-known method of loci. Learning and retention, especially of sequentially ordered information, is facilitated by this technique which involves mentally combining salient loci on a well-known path with the material to be learned. There are several variants of this technique that differ in the kind of path that is suggested to the user and it is implicitly assumed that these variants are comparable in effectiveness. The experiments reported in this study were designed to test this assumption. The data of two experiments show that participants who are instructed to generate and apply loci on a route to their work recall significantly more items in a memory test than participants who are instructed to generate and apply loci on a route in their house. These results have practical implications for the instruction and application of the method of loci.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Psychology, Leipzig, Germany. massen@cbs.mpg.de
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Massen
authors: Bianca
authors: B
authors: Vaterrodt-Plünnecke
authors: Lucia
authors: L
authors: Krings
authors: Benjamin E
authors: BE
authors: Hilbig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult