2.4 Encoding Memories

Explain how different encoding processes work to get information into memory.

• Encoding involves processes and strategies to get information into memory. How information is encoded can determine how effectively information is stored and retrieved.
• Mnemonic devices, such as method of loci, are processes that aid in encoding information into working and long-term memory.
• Encoding can be improved by the process of grouping information together into meaningful chunks (“chunking”), categories, or hierarchies.
• The spacing effect is a process that can cause significant differences in encoding and memory consolidation depending on whether the information is encoded all at once (massed practice) or distributed over time (distributed practice).
• Encoding processes can be affected by the order of how the information is presented, called the serial position effect. The serial position effect predicts that information presented at the beginning of a list (primacy effect) or the end of a list (recency effect) will be more memorable than information presented in the middle of a list.