Mechanisms and patterns of memorization. BUT

When we remember something on purpose, it is called voluntary memory. Its main forms are memorization, retelling, memorizing the meaning (understanding the essence).

memorization- this is a purposeful repetition of the same material, mechanical memorization.

If the material as a result of memorization is reproduced verbatim, then the memorization was verbatim.

This is how words and texts are taught when learning a new language. This is how musicians learn notes and scales before learning how to play.

If, as a result of memorization, the main logic of the text, basic terms, and argumentation are memorized, such memorization is called close to the text.

In school, such memorization is called retelling.

Semantic memorization is the preservation in memory not of the material itself, but of the relationship between the main blocks of the material, the logic that connects these blocks. mechanisms and processes of memory, we begin 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: unintentional (or involuntary) and intentional (or arbitrary).

Unintentional memorization is memorization without a predetermined 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 memorization, voluntary (or intentional) memorization is 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.

The main feature of intentional memorization is the 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 a large number of times, we do not remember if we do not have the task of remembering. 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 in memorization, not only the setting of a general task (to remember what is perceived), but also the setting of private, special tasks is of great importance. 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.

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: unintentional (or involuntary) And intentional (or arbitrary). Unintentional memory- this is memorization without a pre-set goal, without the use of any techniques and the manifestation of volitional efforts. This is a simple imprint of what has affected a person and has retained some trace of excitation in the cerebral cortex. Unlike involuntary memory, arbitrary(or intentional) memorization is 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 ways of memorizing material, include memorization, the essence of which lies in the repeated repetition of educational material until its complete and error-free memorization. The main feature of intentional memorization is the 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. Such an activity aimed at memorizing and then 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. Another characteristic of the memorization process is the degree of comprehension of the memorized material. Therefore, it is customary to single out meaningful And rote.

29. Meaningful and mechanical memorization.

The development of the student's memory goes not only in the direction of the growth of arbitrariness or intentionality of memorization and reproduction, but also in the direction of the development of the meaningfulness of memory.

In psychology, there are two ways of remembering:

Meaningful

Mechanical

Meaningful memorization based on an understanding of what is being learned. The basis of rote memorization is only repeated repetition of the same material without sufficient understanding of it.

Rote is not, as some people think, a feature of children of one age or another, although it is observed at an earlier age (preschool and primary school) more often than at an older one. This is mainly explained by the fact that younger children often do not yet master the methods of meaningful memorization, which they must learn from adults.

The mechanical way of memorization, without a clear understanding of what is being learned, is usually called "cramming".

Meaningful memorization, as has been said, is based on understanding the meaning of what is being learned. With such memorization, newly formed temporary connections are included in the system of previously formed connections in a person. Therefore, it is customary to single out meaningful and mechanical memorization.

Mechanical memorization 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 mainly rely 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 ways 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 remember 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 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.

30. Holistic, partial and combinational methods of memorization. Dynamic and static storage of information.

The productivity of memorization also depends on how memorization is carried out: in general or in parts. In psychology, there are three ways to memorize a large amount of material: complete, 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. 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.

Preservation, reproduction, recognition. All the information that was perceived, a person not only remembers, but also saves a certain time. Preservation as a process of memory has its own laws. For example, it is stated that the storage can be dynamic And static. Dynamic storage manifests itself in operative memory, and static storage manifests itself in long-term memory. 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.

memorization can be defined as the process of memory, as a result of which the new is consolidated by linking it with the previously acquired. This is a necessary condition for enriching the experience of the individual with new knowledge and forms of behavior. Memorization is always selective: far from everything that affects our senses is stored in memory. What determines choice?

memory and action. It has been experimentally proved that any memorization, including involuntary, is a natural product. actions subject with an object.

In their experiment, the subjects were asked to classify the objects depicted on the cards. On each card, except for the subject, a number was depicted. After the experiment, the subjects were asked to recall what they saw on the cards. It turned out that in this case the subjects were well remembered. As for the numbers, some subjects claimed that they did not see them at all. In another experiment, it was necessary to arrange the cards in the order of the numbers depicted on them. In this case, everything was the opposite: the numbers were well remembered and the pictures were almost not noticed.

Thus, what a person is remembered with is valid. This pattern was also found in experiments with practical, labor actions.

The described facts convincingly prove that the simple adjacency events (pictures and numbers) by itself does not provide unambiguous memorization results. The whole point is that does man with material. Of course, the same external conditions of activity do not lead to exactly the same results of memorization in different people, since these conditions are always refracted through a person’s past experience, his individual characteristics. But this only means that, speaking about the dependence of memorization on activity, it is necessary to consider any human action in a personal context, i.e. in connection with the peculiarities of motives, goals and ways to achieve them.

Thus, we can say that the characteristics of memorization of a particular material are determined by motives, goals and methods of activity of the individual. From these positions, one should consider the characteristics of the memorization process in all its forms and at all stages of formation, including at the very initial level, i.e. at the level short term memory.

Short-term and long-term memory. What is short term memory? If we were dictated to a few random numbers, letters or words and asked to repeat them immediately, we would easily do it. Even the reproduction of a series of meaningless syllables would not cause us great difficulties (provided that there are no more than five or seven elements in the series). For example, we could repeat the series "de-bo-da-ti-tse-lo", but only immediately after it was spoken. After some time, we would no longer be able to do this. This is a short term memory. In order to memorize this series for a long time, we would need several repetitions, and perhaps the use of some special (mnemonic) memorization techniques (for example, combining syllables into words and linking them into an artificial sentence like “Grandfather Bogdan is a birder "). And that would be a long-term memory.

Research into short-term memorization, prompted primarily by the needs of engineering psychology, has today acquired great general theoretical significance. It can be said that all modern problems of the psychology of memory are somehow connected with the study of the laws of its short-term processes. Here, a solution to the key problem in the study of memory - the problem of its mechanisms - should be obtained on the basis of a synthesis of all levels of research: psychological, neurophysiological, biochemical.

The very name "short-term memorization" shows that the basis of the corresponding classification from the very beginning was a temporal attribute. However, the time parameter, for all its importance for understanding the phenomena of memory, does not in itself allow one to exhaustively characterize short-term memorization. When considering memory processes, the dependence of its on the nature of human activity in various time conditions of information processing. It has been established that memorization is regulated by a program specified from above, i.e. determined the nature of the activity person with memorized material.

Currently, research is underway aimed at studying the dependence of short-term memorization on the nature of the activity carried out by a person, on the characteristics of the task performed by him. Until now, studies of short-term memory have mainly varied between two factors: exposure time and the material presented. The task of the activity performed by the subject remained unchanged, since it was always a mnemonic task. Therefore, naturally, the amount of memorization in a given time mode of presentation of the material remained constant. Evidence has now been obtained that indicates that various cognitive and mnemonic tasks affect the productivity of short-term memorization in different ways. These data show that short-term memorization, at least within the time limits in which it has usually been studied, is not directly imprinted.

It was found that under the conditions of short-term memorization, only such tasks are productive, for the solution of which automated ways of doing things. Tasks that require the use of extended methods of processing the material reduce the productivity of its memorization under conditions of short-term presentation. Based on this, short-term memorization could be defined as memorization, which is carried out in such a time frame of human activity with the material, in which it is possible to use only automated methods of its processing.

Long-term memory receives information that acquires tactical rather than strategic to achieve the vital goals of the individual's activity. Long-term memorization, being a natural product of human activity, is not just a concomitant "trace" effect of actions, but is formed primarily as an internally necessary condition for its occurrence. In other words, the memorization of any material is a product of the previous action and, at the same time, a condition, a means of carrying out the next one.

Involuntary and voluntary memory. In accordance with the goals of the activity, which includes the processes of memorization, there are two main types of memorization: involuntary and arbitrary.

Involuntary memorization is a product and condition for the implementation of cognitive and practical actions. Since memorization itself is not our goal, then about everything that is remembered involuntarily, we usually say:

"I remember it myself." In fact, this is a strictly natural process, determined by the peculiarities of our activity. Studies show that for the productivity of involuntary memorization, the place that this material occupies in the activity is important. If the material is included in the content of the main goal of the activity, it is remembered better than when it is included in the conditions, ways to achieve this goal.

In the experiments, schoolchildren of the 1st grade and students were given to solve five simple arithmetic problems, after which, unexpectedly for the subjects, they were asked to recall the conditions and numbers of the problems. Schoolchildren of the 1st grade memorized numbers almost three times more than students. This is due to the fact that the first-grader's ability to add and subtract has not yet become a skill. It is a meaningful purposeful action for students of the 1st grade.

For first-graders, operating with numbers was the content of the goal of this action, while for students it was part of the content of the method, and not the goal of the action.

Material that occupies a different place in the activity acquires a different meaning. Therefore, it requires a different orientation and is reinforced in different ways. The content of the main goal requires a more active orientation and receives effective reinforcement as an achieved result of the activity and therefore is better remembered than what concerns the conditions for achieving the goal.

The facts of special studies show that The material that takes the place of the main goal in the activity is remembered the better, the more meaningful connections are established in it.

In a study that studied the involuntary memory of text that was required to be understood by schoolchildren, they found that a very easy text was remembered worse than a medium-difficulty text. A difficult text was remembered better with such a more active way of working with it as drawing up a plan than when using a ready-made plan of the same text.

Consequently, involuntarily the material that causes active mental work on it is remembered better.

It is known that we involuntarily remember completely and firmly, sometimes for the rest of our lives, what has special meaning for us. vital importance, what arouses interest and emotion in us. Involuntary memory will the more productive, the more interested we are in the content of the task being performed. So, if the student is interested in the lesson, he remembers its content better than when the student listens only “for order”. A special study of the conditions for high productivity of involuntary memorization of knowledge in learning has shown that one of these most important conditions is the creation of internal, proper cognitive motivation for learning activity. This is achieved through a special organization systems of learning tasks, at which each result obtained becomes necessary means for each subsequent one.

Arbitrary memorization is a product of special mnemonic actions, those. such actions, the main purpose of which will be memorization itself. The productivity of such an action is also related to the characteristics of its goals, motives and methods of implementation. At the same time, as special studies have shown, one of the main conditions for arbitrary memorization is a clear statement of the problem of remembering the material accurately, completely and consistently. Various mnemonic goals affect the nature of the memorization process itself, the choice of its various methods, and, in connection with this, its result.

In one study, students were asked to memorize two stories. The test of the first one was scheduled for the next day, with regard to the second, it was said that it should be remembered for a long time. The memory test for both stories was actually done four weeks later. It turned out that the second story was remembered much better than the first. It is known how quickly material is memorized that is memorized only for exams, without setting for a strong, long-term consolidation.

Thus, the role of the mnemonic task cannot be reduced to the action of the memorization intention itself. Different mnemonic tasks cause a different orientation in the material, in its content, structure, in its linguistic form, etc., causing the choice of appropriate methods of memorization. Therefore, in educational work it is important to give students differentiated tasks: what and how to remember.

An important role in voluntary memorization is played by motives that encourage memorization. The reported information can be understood and memorized, but, without acquiring sustainable significance for the student, it can be quickly forgotten. People who have not been sufficiently brought up with a sense of duty and responsibility often forget much of what they need to remember.

Among the conditions for the productivity of arbitrary memorization, the central place is occupied by using rational memory techniques. Knowledge is made up of a certain system of facts, concepts, judgments. To memorize them, it is necessary to isolate certain semantic units, establish connections between them, apply logical techniques associated with more or less detailed thought processes. Understanding is a necessary condition for logical, meaningful memorization. The concept is remembered faster and stronger because it is meaningfully associated with the knowledge already acquired earlier, with the past experience of a person. On the contrary, what is misunderstood or poorly understood always appears in the mind of a person as something separate, meaningfully not connected with past experience. Incomprehensible material usually does not arouse interest in itself.

One of the most important methods of logical memorization is drawing up a plan for the material to be learned. It includes three points: 1) breakdown of the material into its component parts; 2) inventing titles for them or highlighting some strong point with which the entire content of this part of the material is easily associated; 3) linking parts by their titles or selected strong points into a single chain of associations. Combining individual thoughts, sentences into semantic parts reduces the number of units that need to be remembered without reducing the amount of memorized material. Memorization is also facilitated because, as a result of drawing up a plan, the material acquires a clear, dissected and ordered form. Thanks to this, it is easier to grasp mentally in the process of reading itself.

Of great importance comparison as a method of logical memorization. Emphasizing differences in objects is especially important. This ensures the specialization of links during memorization and directs the reproduction of object images along a certain path. Establishing only general, and even more so very broad connections between objects can make it difficult to remember them. This largely explains the difficulty in remembering (for example, the names of Ovsov in Chekhov's story "Horse Name").

Memorization of objects is carried out the faster and stronger, the sharper the differences between them are. Therefore, the comparison of objects must begin with clearly identified differences and only after that move on to less noticeable differences. As a result of experiments I.P. Pavlov came to the conclusion that the neural connection to a certain stimulus is carried out faster and is more durable not when the stimulus itself is repeatedly reinforced, but when its reinforcement is interspersed, opposed to an unreinforced other stimulus similar to the first.

Association by similarity and contrast is also the basis for such more complex methods of arbitrary memorization as classification, systematization of the material.

When logical work on material relies extensively on figurative connections, this increases the meaningfulness and strength of memorization. Therefore, where possible, it is necessary to evoke appropriate images in ourselves, to associate them with the content of the material that we remember.

One of the most important means of remembering reproduction, acting in the form of retelling to oneself the memorized content. However, it is useful to use this method only after preliminary understanding, awareness of the material, especially in cases where the material is complex, difficult to understand. Reproduction, especially in your own words, improves understanding of the material. Poorly understood material is usually associated with a "foreign" language form, while well-understood material is easily "translated" into "one's own language".

Reproduction speeds up, rationalizes memorization, especially when memorizing, since when retelling, we identify weaknesses and exercise self-control. It is important that reproduction is not replaced by recognition. Knowing is easier than remembering. But only the possibility of reproduction, recall creates the necessary confidence in knowledge.

Educational material that requires multiple repetitions in its volume can be remembered in three ways: either in parts - partial way, or all at once holistic way, or all and in parts - combined method. The most rational is the combined method, and the name rational is partial. With a partial method, there is no orientation towards the general content of the whole, therefore, individual parts are memorized in isolation from one another. This leads to a quick forgetting of the memorized. More productive is the holistic way, which uses the general content of the material, making it easier to understand and remember the individual parts in their relationship. But parts can vary in difficulty, besides, the middle of the material is always remembered worse than the beginning and end, especially with a large volume. Here, a combined method of memorization can be applied, when at first the whole material is comprehended, realized as a whole, in the process of which its individual parts are also distinguished, then individual parts are memorized, especially the more difficult ones, and finally, the material is repeated again as a whole.

This way of learning is best suited features of the structure of the mnemonic action, which includes the following operations: orientation in the entire material, the selection of groups of its elements, the establishment of intra-group relations, the establishment of inter-group connections.

The ability to reproduce is not necessarily an indicator of the strength of memorization. Therefore, the teacher should always worry about how, through repetition, to achieve a more solid consolidation of knowledge by students. According to K.D. Ushinekogo, a teacher who does not care about repetition, about the strength of knowledge, can be likened to a drunk driver with poorly tied luggage: he drives everything forward without looking back, and brings an empty cart, boasting only that he has come a long way.

However, repetition is productive only when it is conscious, meaningful and active. Otherwise, it leads to rote memorization. Therefore, the best type of repetition is the inclusion of learned material in subsequent activities. The experience of experimental teaching has shown that when the program material is organized into a special strict system of tasks (so that each previous step is necessary for the assimilation of the next), then in the corresponding activity of the student, essential material is necessarily repeated each time at a new level and in new connections. Under these conditions, the necessary knowledge is firmly remembered even without memorization, i.e. involuntarily. Previously acquired knowledge, being included in the context of new knowledge, is not only updated, but also qualitatively changed, rethought.

The place of involuntary and arbitrary memorization in the assimilation of knowledge. In training, it is necessary to focus not only on arbitrary, but also on involuntary memorization. A comparative study of them revealed important conditions under which each of them is most effective. The results of this study make it possible to determine the place of involuntary and voluntary memorization in the assimilation of knowledge by students.

Involuntary memorization of objects (depicted on the cards of objects), which was carried out in the process of their classification, i.e. active mental activity, gave better results than arbitrary, which relied only on the perception of the material. Similarly, when students mapped out a relatively complex text in order to understand its content, they remembered it better than when they voluntarily memorized it, which relied only on simply reading the text. Consequently, when involuntary memorization is based on meaningful and active ways of working with the material, it is more productive than arbitrary, if the latter does not use similar methods.

Under conditions of the same methods of working with material (for example, classifying objects), involuntary memorization, while remaining more productive in children of school and primary school age, gradually loses its advantage in middle school students and adults, giving way to voluntary memorization. These changes in the ratio of the productivity of involuntary and voluntary memorization are explained by complex relationships between cognitive and mnemonic actions in the process of their formation. The mnemonic action, being formed on the basis of the cognitive one, lags behind it. Classification can act as a way of remembering when it has reached a certain level of formation as a cognitive action. Only having learned to classify, one can use this mental action as a way of arbitrary memorization. This regularity also appeared in experiments on involuntary and voluntary memorization of a text with such methods of work as using a ready-made plan or drawing up a plan on your own.

Involuntary memorization reaches maximum productivity when students perform cognitive task, when the material requires active understanding. In these cases, involuntary memorization is more productive than voluntary, because the process of understanding is difficult or impossible to combine with the performance of a mnemonic task. Arbitrary memorization reaches its maximum productivity in conditions where the understanding of the material can be entirely subordinated to the performance of a mnemonic task. Involuntary memorization should be guided by when studying new material, and the mnemonic task should be set at the stage of its consolidation. Thus, an important point in the management of knowledge memorization is selection And differentiation of cognitive and mnemonic tasks.

The main characteristics of the 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.

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.

Reproducibility reflects the ability of a person to accurately store, and most importantly, accurately reproduce the information imprinted in memory.

Duration reflects the ability of a person to retain the necessary information for a certain time.

Memory processes.

memorization - it 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: unintentional (or involuntary) And intentional (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. 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.

Arbitrary(or intentional) memorization is 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 ways of memorizing material, include memorization.

The main feature of intentional memorization- this is a manifestation of volitional efforts in the form of setting a task for memorization.

The activity aimed at memorizing and reproducing the retained material is called mnemonic activity . Mnemic activity is always selective.

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 memorization is the memorization of statistics, historical dates, etc. Associations by contiguity are the basis of rote memorization. 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.

Meaningful memorization is based on understanding the internal logical connections between the individual parts of the material. 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. 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.

Comprehension of the material is achieved by various methods, and above all highlighting the main ideas in the studied material and grouping them in the form of a plan. When using this technique, we, remembering the text, divide it into more or less independent sections, or thought groups. 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: selection of semantic strongholds. 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, mentally making a plan.

The most important method of meaningful memorization material and achieve high strength of its preservation is repetition method . Repetition is the most important condition for mastering knowledge, skills and abilities.

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. Saving can be dynamic And static. Dynamic Saving manifests itself in RAM, and static - in the long term. With dynamic preservation, the material changes little, while with static preservation, on the contrary, it necessarily undergoes reconstruction and certain processing.

Extracting material from memory is carried out using two processes - reproduction 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 neural connections that were formed earlier during the perception of objects and phenomena.

Memory mechanisms

Like memorization, reproduction can be unintentional (involuntary) and deliberate (arbitrary). In the first case, reproduction occurs unexpectedly for ourselves.

With arbitrary reproduction, unlike involuntary, we remember, having a consciously set goal. Such a goal is the desire to remember something from our past experience.

There are cases when reproduction proceeds in the form of a more or less prolonged remembrance . 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 character. Consequently, the processes of recall are closely related to the processes of thinking.

In addition to reproduction, we are constantly faced with such a phenomenon as recognition . Recognition of an object occurs at the moment of its perception and means that there is a perception of an object, the idea of ​​which was formed by a person or on the basis of personal impressions(memory representation), or based on verbal descriptions(representation of the imagination).

It should be noted that recognition processes differ from each other in the degree of certainty. Recognition is least certain when we experience only sense of familiarity of an object, but we cannot identify it with anything from past experience. Such cases are characterized 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 full recognition.

The processes of recognition and reproduction are not always carried out with equal success. 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 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.

forgetting manifests itself in two main forms: a) the inability to remember or learn; b) incorrect recall 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 3 such levels: 1) reproducing memory; 2) identifying memory; 3) facilitating memory. 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.

Considering the various manifestations of forgetting, one cannot but mention cases when a person cannot remember something at the moment, but remembers or recognizes it after some time. Such a phenomenon is called reminiscences . The 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.

Other forms of forgetting are erroneous recall And misidentification . 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.

There are currently known factors affecting speed 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. 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.

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.

Individual features of memory.

The processes of memory in different people proceed differently. currently accepted distinguish two main groups of individual differences in memory : the first group includes differences in the productivity of memorization, the second - differences in the so-called types of memory.

Differences in learning productivity expressed in the speed, strength and accuracy of memorization, as well as in the readiness to reproduce the material. It is well known that some people remember quickly, others slowly, some remember for a long time, others soon forget, some reproduce accurately, others make many mistakes, some can remember a large amount of information, others remember only a few lines.

Other group individual differences regarding types of memory . The type of memory determines how a person remembers material - visually, by ear or using movement. Some people, in order to remember, need visual perception of what they remember. These are the people of the so-called visual type of memory. Others need auditory imagery to remember. This category of people has auditory memory. In addition, there are people who, in order to remember, need movements and especially speech movements. These are people who have motor type of memory(in particular, speech-motor).

However, pure memory types are not as common. As a rule, most people have mixed types. So, most often there are mixed types of memory - auditory-motor, visual-motor, visual-auditory.

memorization- the process of fixing new information by linking it with the already known, stored in memory. There are the following types of memory:

Mechanical and meaningful Data from experimental studies show the importance of semantic connections for the process of memorization. A comparison of the results of memorizing meaningless syllables and meaningful words showed that memorization productivity is directly dependent on the presence of semantic connections (22 times more effective!)

Voluntary and involuntary memory. Involuntary is understood as such a memorization when a person does not set a special goal to remember. For example, you walk down the street and memorize some situation, although you did not have a special task - to remember. With arbitrary memorization, a person sets a special goal - to remember. What memory is more productive? Research

Zinchenko showed that involuntary memorization can be more productive than arbitrary, it all depends on what place the memorized material occupies in the structure of activity. So, the following experiment was carried out: in one case, the subjects were asked to classify the proposed pictures into groups, and the goal of remembering these pictures was not set before the subjects. In the second case, the goal was to memorize the pictures. So, in the case of classification, the pictures were remembered better than when the task was simply to remember them. Thus, involuntary memorization can be more effective than arbitrary. if the material takes the place of the purpose of the activity. With arbitrary memorization, the goal is shifted to the memorization process itself.

Direct and indirect memory. With direct memorization, a person does not use auxiliary means to remember. Such memorization is called mediated when the subject uses such means. For example, he sets a goal to remember, writes down so as not to forget, ties a knot in memory. By the way, the last technique is very ancient. Attempts to use auxiliary means to remember (that is, to master one's memory) are already found among primitive peoples. A person tries to remember one thing with the help of other weights, for example, puts a pebble in his pocket, a leaf from a tree while counting. Thus, along with what we remember, there appears something with which we remember.

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

Involuntary memorization

The conditions for successful involuntary 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;
• the possibility of using this material in the professional activities of the subject;
• installation on the need to reproduce this material in certain conditions;
• material that acts as a means to achieve 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 purchases of the hero of "Dead Souls" Nozdrev 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) that 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 was presented to them 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, things that affect the most significant personal characteristics of the individual are more firmly remembered.

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 features. 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.