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Why some memories stick

Nature (2010)Cite this article

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Repetitive neural responses may enhance recall of faces and words.

People find it easier to recall things if material is presented repeatedly at well-spaced intervals rather than all at once. For example, you're more likely to remember a face that you've seen on multiple occasions over a few days than one that you've seen once in one long period. One reason that a face linked to many different contexts — such as school, work and home — is easier to recognize than one that is associated with just one setting, such as a party, could be that there are multiple ways to access the memory. This idea, called the encoding variability hypothesis, was proposed by psychologists about 40 years ago2.

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References

  1. Xue, G. et al. Science doi:10.1126/science.1193125 (2010).

  2. Martin, E. Psych. Rev. 75, 421-441 (1968).

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  1. Janelle Weaver
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Weaver, J. Why some memories stick. Nature (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.457

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.457

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