Differentiate between the picture superiority effect, the concreteness effect, and the bizarreness effect. Describe how you could use each one to improve your memory recall in your everyday life.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Student examples will vary. A sample answer follows. The picture superiority effect means that people are generally better able to remember pictures than words. I can apply this to my schoolwork. When I need to memorize names of body parts for my biology class, I will study diagrams of those body parts in addition to the names. Doing this should make it easier for me to recall information on exam days.
Studies have shown the existence of a concreteness effect, in which people are better able to remember concrete items (such as "flower" or "bear") than abstract ideas (such as "justice" or "worry"). I could use this in my everyday life when I am choosing a password for my work computer. I know that using birthdays, hobbies, or other personal information makes a password more vulnerable to hackers, so I used to choose a random word from the dictionary. Now I will choose a random word that describes a concrete object, so I will have a secure password that is easier for me to remember.
The bizarreness effect states that people are better at remembering unusual images than typical images. However, bizarre imagery helps memory only when the bizarre information stands out against other studied information. For this reason, I will use the bizarreness effect when I want to remember only one or two facts, not a list of them. I have trouble remembering to pick up paper towels when I am at the store, so I will create a mental picture of the front of the store blanketed in thousands of paper towels.