Forgetting where your keys are doesn’t mean your memory is fading

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

Forgetting where you put your keys or wallet doesn't mean you are losing your memory, scientists claim.

Instead, they claim that memory is poorly understood and the brain forgets on purpose so it can store other information.

Two academics have now written a book, The Psychology of Memory, to explain why we lose household items and how we can remember names and numbers better.

Authors Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Althea Need Kaminske say storing and retrieving information is far more complex than people think.

They say that forgetting is normal and despite their regular portrayal in films, extremes of memory such as photographic or savant are very rare.

Dr. Kaminske, an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery and the Senior Director of Student Academic Support and Achievement at Indiana University School of Medicine said: “Because we are most aware of our memory when we have trouble remembering something, our intuitions about how memory works might be a little biased.

“For example, I spend an embarrassing amount of time looking for my phone, water bottle, and keys.

"You may be unsurprised to learn that our memory systems are not necessarily designed to remember where we put our phones. Or keys. Or water bottles.

“Though we would hazard a guess that if we were in a survival scenario where dehydration was a concern, we would be much more aware of water sources.

“People are better at remembering information when they process it in a fitness-relevant scenario, such as being stranded in the grasslands of a foreign land.”

Co-author Dr. Sumeracki, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Rhode Island College, added: "A degree of forgetting is natural to allow the brain to remember more general information.

"Memory does not work like a recording device, they say, but ‘more like a Wiki page’ because details can be edited."

They say memory has a huge impact on our lives and can be impaired by alcohol, sleep deprivation and caffeine.

For example, victims of crime may not be believed in court because their memories are patchy even though this is perfectly normal.

They say there are many techniques we can all use to improve our day-to-day memory.

One technique described in the book is ‘retrieval practice’, the strategy of ‘pulling’ facts from memory such as learning a new colleague’s name by deliberately addressing them by it every time you see them.

Chess players remember the location of pieces on the board using schema, a way of organizing new information in the brain.

The benefit of schema is it reduces demands on working memory and anyone can use it to store and recall complex information.

They suggest leaving objects next to others can also improve recollection of where they are.

Dr. Sumeracki said: “Visual and auditory techniques can help train the memory of normal individuals.

"The ability to recall the order of cards in a pack seems impressive but can be achieved by creating mental associations for each card.

“Anyone who has studied knows that regular practice is essential. But to become an expert in a field of learning, people need to employ deliberate practice.

"The difference is that deliberate practice involves purposeful and deliberate attention whereas regular practice just involves repetition.”