9 Types of Mnemonics to Improve Your Memory

Keyword Mnemonics

Studying a second (or third or fourth) language? Using the keyword mnemonic method improves learning and recall, especially in the area of foreign language.

Here's how the keyword method works:

• First, you choose a keyword that somehow cues you to think of the foreign word.
• Then, you imagine that keyword connected with the meaning of the word you're trying to learn.
• The visualization and association should trigger the recall of the correct word.

For example, if you're trying to learn the Spanish word for cat, which is gato, first think of a gate and then imagine the cat sitting on top of the gate. Even though the "a" sound in gato is short and the "a" sound in gate is long, the beginnings are similar enough to help you remember the association between gate and cat and to recall the meaning of gato.

Chunking as a Mnemonic Strategy

Chunking or grouping information is a mnemonic strategy that works by organizing information into more easily learned groups, phrases, words, or numbers. Phone numbers, Social Security, and credit cards are organized using chunking.

For example, memorizing the following number: 47895328463 will likely take a fair amount of effort. However, if it is chunked like this: 4789 532 8463, it becomes easier to remember.

Interestingly, chunking is one of the language processing symptoms associated with cognitive impairment. People tend to speak in shorter "chunks." There is interest in how mnemonics can help with verbal working memory in these people.

Musical Mnemonics

One way to successfully encode the information into your brain is to use music. A well-known example is the "A-B-C" song, but there's no end to what you can learn when it's set to music. You can learn the names of the countries of Africa, science cycles, memory verses, or math equations.

If you search online, you'll find that there are some songs already created specifically to help teach certain information, and for others, you'll have to make up your own. And no, you don't have to be able to carry a tune or write the music out correctly for this mnemonic method to work.

Music can be a helpful memory tool for people diagnosed with dementia.

Acronyms and Acrostics

Acronyms and acrostics are typically the most familiar type of mnemonic strategies.

Acronyms use a simple formula of a letter to represent each word or phrase that needs to be remembered. If you're trying to memorize four different types of dementia, you might use the acronym FLAV, to represent:

• Frontotemporal
• Lewy body
• Alzheimer's
• Vascular

You can use acronyms to remember grocery list items and more.

Many commonly used words are acronyms:

• NBA (National Basketball Association)
• LOL (Laugh Out Loud)
• SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging)
• RADAR (radio detection and ranging)

An acrostic uses the same concept as the acronym except that instead of forming a new "word," it generates a sentence that helps you remember the information.

An often-used acrostic in math class is: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. This acrostic mnemonic represents the order of operations in algebra and stands for parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

Rhymes as Mnemonic Strategies

"Hey diddle diddle. The cat and the fiddle..." Can you finish the rest of this nursery rhyme?

The ability to memorize and remember nursery rhymes is often due in part to repetition and in part to rhyming. Rhyming words can be used as a mnemonic to help us learn and recall information.

Take the familiar spelling rule: "i" before "e," except after "c," or in sounding like "ay" as in "neighbor" or "weigh." This phrase sticks in our memories because we've heard it multiple times but also because of the rhyming within it.

The same is true of sayings such as "Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November," to remember the months of the year with only 30 days in them.

Making Connections as a Mnemonic Method

One mnemonic strategy that helps encode new information is to connect it with something else that you already are familiar with or know. This gives it meaning and makes it easier to remember. Making connections is a type of elaborative rehearsal and can be applied to almost any subject or type of information.

A 2015 study found that rehearsing details in video clips right after watching them improved information recall weeks later. These types of connections can boost memory when learning new names, work tasks, and other information.

Method of Loci Mnemonic Strategy

The method of loci (pronounced low-sigh) is arguably the earliest identified mnemonic in history, discussed by Cicero in de Oratore and attributed to Greek poet Simonides of Ceos. His method is based on creating mental images of what you need to remember, a technique Simonides reportedly used during a building collapse at a banquet in ancient Thessaly.

It's also one of the most researched mnemonics, demonstrating strong success across a wide spectrum of academic subjects and life situations.

How does it work?

1. The learner visualizes a room or a familiar path through a building.
2. The learner mentally associates facts or information with specific locations or objects along the way.
3. In order to recall what they learned, they re-visualize moving through that room or along that path, and each stop along the way triggers another piece of information.

This method is also called the journey method, creating a "memory palace" or the mental walk strategy. Taking the example of a grocery list, you would visualize the locations and objects, and then see yourself shopping through the store shelves.

Peg Method Mnemonics

The peg method is an especially useful mnemonic for remembering sequenced information. If first requires that you memorize the following list in help you order the facts:

• one = bun
• two = shoe
• three= tree
• four = door
• five = hive
• six = sticks
• seven = heaven
• eight = gate
• nine = vine
• ten = hen

After memorizing this list, look over the new information that you are trying to learn. Then, connect the first word to "bun," the second word to "shoe," the third word to "tree," etc. The goal is to make a memorable connection with each new piece of information you need to memorize.

For example, let's imagine you need to learn the scientific classification system - Kingdom; Phylum or Division; Class; Order; Family; Genus; Species. Using the peg system, you'll first think of a kingdom placed on a hamburger bun. Then, you'll imagine the mathematical division sign inside a shoe. Next, you'll picture a classroom perched on a tree branch. And so on.

This method allows you to recall both the specific piece of information and the correct order in which it needs to be placed.

The Mnemonic Linking System (Stories or Images)

The mnemonic linking method (also called "chaining") consists of developing a story or image that connects together pieces of information you need to remember. Each item leads you to recall the next item.

For example, imagine that you need to remember to bring the following things with you to school in the morning: homework papers, glasses, gym shoes, wallet, lunch money, and keys.

Using the linking system, you can make up a sentence or short story to help you remember. An example: Jack's homework papers put on their glasses and gym shoes and ran over to his wallet where his hungry keys were eating his lunch money.

If you add interesting personal details or humor, it often makes the information easier to remember.

How Do Mnemonic Devices Help With Memorization?

Mnemonic devices help to make it easier to share information as well as remember information. For example, healthcare providers working in patient safety have to quickly pass on clinical data to their colleagues and patient caregivers. One study identified 42 mnemonic devices with 238 different elements for this purpose.

Many of the same tools work for people studying, working, or remembering the new neighbor's name. Keep in mind, though, that what you forget (and why) may be as important as what you remember. Emotion plays an important role in memory retrieval (especially negative emotion) and so can anxiety or depression.