Application

Mnemonics are methods used to assist memory. They usually work by creating associations between new information to be remembered and information already stored in long-term memory. This is known as elaborative rehearsal. A simple mnemonic could associate a password with a loved one’s birth date or address. However, more complex mnemonics can be used to remember lists of words, concepts, digit combinations, people’s names, and so on. Many different types of mnemonics exist, and students use them to improve their academic outcomes in many fields of study ( Tamkin, 1988 ; Rubakovic and Steffen, 2011 ; Tullis and Qiu, 2022 ). Professional mnemonists also use them to impress audiences. Mnemonics are well worth exploring as their use can improve your grades. You can learn several types of mnemonics in memory champion Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything ( Foer, 2011 ) or in Lorayne and Lucas’s older Memory Book (1974) . However, to get you started immediately, a mnemonic known as the method of loci and a study that attests to its efficacy are described subsequently.