association chain. An example of using the "Word List" method
This technique is known by many names - the chain method of memorization, the method of chaining associations or associative links. However, the most common name is the method of associations. Simplicity and efficiency help to use it to remember almost any information:
- numbers;
- the words;
- terms;
- names;
- titles;
- telephones;
- dates
- quotes;
- hieroglyphs;
- jokes;
- recipes;
- shopping lists.
In addition, this technique formed the basis of some other methods for working with memory, attention and thinking.
Principle and features of the method
Let's look at the principle of the method under consideration. It's simple: even two completely unrelated objects or words can be combined into a single whole with the help of a connection in such a way that when one appears in a person's memory, the missing second is immediately recreated. This is the essence of association. By the way, options are possible when there are two or more objects in the chain, depending on the goals and efforts of the memorizer.
As for communication, there are no restrictions: do not stop the flight of fantasy! The brighter, more unusual, more fantastic, more interesting and funnier the invented connection is, the better the chain will be deposited in the head and the easier and faster the necessary pieces of information will pop up in memory.
For example, take the words "fire extinguisher" and "apple". Imagine how a firefighter grabs a fire extinguisher and runs heroically to put out a burning house. But when he directs the fire extinguisher at an open flame, apples begin to fly out of it, so much so that the fire dies out under a pile of apples. Even the house is not visible. A crowd of onlookers stand bewildered, but after a second they begin to joyfully throw up the same perplexed firefighter with a fire extinguisher, who just now saw the label with a painted apple on the case.
Examples of using
Learn English words
Every time you meet a new unfamiliar word in English, try to build in your imagination an associative link with another word, for example, in Russian. This technique easily works with phrases that came into our language from English: “equal” (equal) - “equivalent”. Or let's say "amassment" (cluster) - "mass".
But more often the sound of the Russian word is not similar to the pronunciation of English. But it's only more interesting that way. For example, the association with the one-eyed CAPTAIN helped me to learn the word "carpet" ("carpet" - kapit), who examined the expanses of the ocean, while standing on a magic carpet. There is nothing complicated - after practicing for a while, you can form the necessary chains on the fly and memorize words without tedious cramming.
Household tricks
Using this method, you can help yourself in everyday situations. My favorite example is a friend who constantly forgot to take an umbrella with him when leaving the house, or at least think about whether to take it. But as soon as he formed a stable association “rug” - “umbrella” in his head, imagining that instead of a rug there was a bright yellow rain umbrella and every time he stumbled over it when he left the house, the problem was forgotten.
Memorizing dates
Often at school, we had to learn the dates of various historical events, however, many years have passed and not a single “most important date without which one cannot live” has not fit into our heads. How much time and nerves were killed for memorization, however, using the association method, you can easily and permanently save tens and hundreds of dates and similar data.
For example, 1807 is an unremembered date for the creation of the first steamboat. To memorize, use an alphanumeric cipher, but for this you will initially have to memorize a table with a code like a school multiplication table. And this is not our method! Therefore, we will call on fantasy to help: we will come up with such a scenario or scene in our head, in which the cherished numbers will be hidden only for us. You can discard the number "1" - and so it is clear that this happened in the first millennium. There are three numbers left, and here's how we'll represent them:
- 8 - looks like two pipes of a steamer, if you look at it from above;
- 0 - this will be the shape of the deck of the steamer;
- 7 - such a figure is reminiscent of the waves cut through by our resulting ship.
No matter how difficult the task of remembering such difficult information as phone numbers, new English words, dates of historical events, and so on may seem, there is always an option to avoid cramming. One of these methods is the method of associations. Your memory will work like clockwork - accurately and efficiently, the main thing is more imagination and less boring traditional approaches.
Article author: Ekaterina LaukhinaAn association is a connection in memory, when after one another appears in a person’s head without justification.
Domestic bird? - Hen! Poet? - Pushkin!
Open the dictionary in a random place and poke your finger at a random word. Read it. Now name a few other words that come to mind when you say the first word. For example: "white" -> "snow", "white" -> "day", "white" -> "light"; "black" -> "soot", "black" -> "crow"; "tank" -> "armor", "tank" -> "cannon". Etc. Such a pair of words is called an association. If you take the second word in a pair and come up with an association already to it, then a chain of three words and two associations will appear.
Thus, it is possible to build arbitrarily long chains.
Why and how associations form themselves
Associations appear most often by contiguity in space and time: speaking of poultry, chicken is most often mentioned - we remember this. Forks often lie next to spoons on the table - hence the frequent associative connection "spoon-fork". And the "spoon" and "thermonuclear collider" are neither spatially nor temporally connected in our experience, and such an association is not typical. A special case are associations by similarity (blue-blue) and by contrast (black-white).
When do we associate something with something, and when do we not? Most often, the factor of impression and novelty influences. The brighter and stronger something made an impression on us, the sooner we will not only remember it, but will remember it in connection with everything that surrounded it: where, with whom, when, how ... Similarly, associations arise faster and more vividly in connection with something new that attracted attention due to the effect of novelty.
In addition to the effect of novelty, the effect of repetition affects the formation of associations. If this girl usually smiles, she will be called Sunshine more often. Smile more often!
Much is determined by the direction of attention of the person himself. Girls have girlish associations, boys have boyish associations, adults have adults, and sexually charged young people have predominantly sexual associations. "What do you think about when you look at a brick? - About girls. - Why? How are bricks and girls connected? - And I always think about them ..."
The physiological mechanism for the formation of most associations, most likely, is associative reflexes in the understanding of V.M. Bekhterev. However, the emergence of most associations can be explained as conditioned reflexes according to I.P. Pavlov, and the concept of "", more often used in behaviorism.
The use of associations in practical psychology
The method of free (for Jung - directed) associations has been actively used and is used in psychoanalysis.
In projective tests, people are presented with a picture with unclear content, and by the nature of the prevailing associative connections, one can draw a conclusion about the person’s characteristic way of perceiving and thinking, about his feelings, needs and interests.
In 1936, Milton Erickson wrote an article in which he outlined the results of his experiment with a verbal test, the essence of which is that a person gives an associative link to a word with the words that describe it. For example, to the stimulus word “belly”, the subject gave the following words: big, anxiety, baby, afraid, operation, illness, forgotten. And that was information about her unwanted pregnancy that she didn't remember.
Managed associations
Creative people themselves can create their own creative associations, finding interesting and memorable associations. Managed associations are associations that we create ourselves and can correct or erase ourselves. By creating controlled associations, you and I can control our attention and memory.
If you want to remember what you need today when you leave the house, vividly imagine how you see the hallway and immediately remember: "Umbrella!"
And if you heard a good joke, immediately figure out in what company and setting it would be appropriate, and immediately create a picture for yourself that you are with these people in such an environment and tell this joke. With a high probability you will remember him in that situation.
This is not strictly a group exercise, it can be performed in pairs, and even alone.
To perform exercises for the development of associative thinking, it is advisable to have a voice recorder and a notebook with a pen at hand - for subsequent decoding and analysis of the sound recording. Do not rely on memory when performing such exercises. Exercises. Working with a chain of associations, akin to the analysis of dreams. And everyone knows: a dream needs to be written down in hot pursuit, if you do not want to immediately forget 70% of its details.
The same with associations.
I suggest doing three simple exercises that help develop associative thinking in those who do them fairly regularly.
So, let's start with the simplest - preparatory exercise. I recommend starting any intellectual workout with him.
Associative Thinking Exercise #1
It consists of two equal parts. In the first part we play connected associations. In the second part - in unrelated associations.
Related associations
The leader gives the floor. This word should be (preferably) a common noun in the nominative case.
Then, in a circle, each player (or you alone) continues the chain of associations under a dictaphone record - that is, he calls one more word, clearly associative related to the previous one.
- travel,
- railway carriage,
- ticket,
- conductor,
- suitcase,
- passenger,
- companion,
- window,
- station...
In the next round of the game we play
Unrelated associations
- travel,
- consumption,
- sunset,
- bombing,
- polyethylene,
- mask,
- child,
- horror,
- collar
Both in the first and in the second case, after the end of the game, there is a sharing, an exchange of opinions, which is mandatory for any psychological games.
In the course of sharing, each participant in the game must explain how and why he decided that it was appropriate to continue the chain of associations (sometimes tightly connected, but especially vague ones) with his word.
for example
I said “View” after “fellow traveler” because I probably don’t want to look at people, I would rather admire the view from the window.
I said "fellow traveler" after "passenger" because I wanted to clarify - I'm on the way with this person, we are going in the same direction.
I said "polythene" after "bombing" because "bombing" involves corpses, and corpses (in my mind) are wrapped in polyethylene.
I said "collar" after "horror" because I feel terrible when something chokes me, and the collar is able to "choke".
In the course of sharing, the very “psychotherapeutic insights” come, during which the players gain insight - an understanding of their situation, as well as the release of negative emotions and fears.
Associative Thinking Exercise #2
"Fleeing Association"
The leader says the word. For example, wardrobe.
Within five minutes, each player must write down in his personal notebook a chain of associations caused by this word. The goal is to let go of your thought, allowing it to jump from one association to another.
For example: Wardrobe,
- skeleton,
- pharmacy,
- scales,
- sky,
- rocket,
- cartoon,
- childhood,
- Romania,
- tambourine,
- jack,
- pudding,
- hills...
During the sharing, each player must explain (briefly) their associations. (This explanation is recorded on a dictaphone).
Associative Thinking Exercise #3
"Strapped Association"
The host sets the word and gives the task: for five minutes, try to keep thoughts on this image (without being distracted by other topics and images). Then the Leader turns on the song composition. While the song is playing, each participant must keep the given word in memory.
In order to do this (not to forget the word and not to be distracted by thoughts on other objects and topics), we turn on the imagination and create a whole plot in our thoughts, which helps to stay in the field of a given image. We write down the main moves of this plot in a notebook.
At the end of the time, each player tells the story that was born in his head, which helped him to focus on this word.
The host and other players at the time of sharing can ask leading questions, provoke, disagree, or vice versa, agree, supporting the player.
Good luck with your association games, friends! Develop your associative thinking.
Elena Nazarenko
Contents Associative method for finding solutions to creative problems Associative chain 1. Associative chain 2. Associative chain 3. Associative chain 4. Associative chain 5. Associative chain 6. Associative chain 7. Associative chain 8. Game "Associative chain of steps".
TASK: build an associative chain linking the concepts of "computer mouse" and "sun". EXAMPLE: A computer mouse resembles a living one, mice are caught in mousetraps, for this they put cheese there, in its shape the cheese resembles the sun. Association chain 2 Contents
TASK: build an associative chain linking the concepts of "wheel" and "zoo". EXAMPLE: The wheel is installed on the car, the car is often on the road, on which there are footpaths - zebras, zebras live in the zoo. Contents Association chain 5
TASK: build an associative chain linking the concepts of "winter", "airplane over the beach" and "airport". Association chain 6 Contents
10 TASK: build an associative chain linking the concepts of "feast" and "winter". Contents Association chain 8
Game "Associative chain of steps" Condition: Condition: An object is proposed: a cat. Task: Task: Choose a characteristic for this object. According to the proposed characteristic, select a new object corresponding to it. According to this principle, make an associative chain of steps: object - characteristic - object - characteristic ... Example: A cat is characterized by sharp teeth, claws, and other signs of the feline family. These characteristics are also suitable for a tiger cub. Content
It is impossible to get a good memory without training it. It is also impossible to become strong or learn to run fast while lying on the couch. A good memory is a skill that needs practice, and by spending some time doing memory improvement exercises, you will be able to remember much better.
There are a large number of exercises, the implementation of which will allow you to improve the ability of your memory to memorize.
When getting started, remember that it is not the amount of time that you spent doing tasks that matters, but the regularity of training. By exercising five times a week for ten to fifteen minutes, you will achieve greater results with less effort than if you trained twice a week for two hours a day.
chain of images
Training in creating a chain of associations between two arbitrary images. It helps a lot in the development of imaginative thinking, which is so necessary in mnemonics, and is also considered important for the development of creative thinking and imagination.
Thinking in images
Mnemonics is based on working with images. Often this causes difficulties, since most people are used to being guided by logic and working with images can be difficult at first. Therefore, before moving on to memorization, do the following exercise several times.
"Chain of Images"
To train figurative abilities, you can use an exercise called "Chain of Images". It is described in Harry Lorraine's book "The Development of Memory and the Ability to Concentrate" and is recommended for strengthening creative abilities. Harry Lorraine in the book "Supermemory" describes it under the name of the method of correlations for the development of the imagination. This exercise is also known as "Katena" - a game for the development of creative thinking. It is quite possible that you have met him under other names - its rules are simple, and you can play alone and in a company.
Rules of the game
Any two words are taken. It is required to connect them with a chain of association words. For communication, you should use words between which there is something in common or vice versa.
Examples
Example:
Clock and Cloud
Possible Solution: Clock - Time - Day - Sun - Sky - Cloud
It is clear that there are other ways to connect these two images. Everyone can come up with something of their own - and this will also be correct. The main thing is to establish a connection between adjacent words.
And one more example:
Rooster - Demon
Rooster - Yard - Church - God - Demon
In the transition from God to the Demon, a transition based on opposites was used. This is also possible.
In some cases, the associations are so obvious that it makes no sense to create a chain of images. For example, for a Crane - Pipe pair, it would be quite natural to imagine a crane lifting a pipe. In this case, it makes sense to come up with additional associations: Crane - Rope - Hook - Pipe.
Pairs of words
An exercise in memorizing pairs of words. First, an association is created between two words. Then, having seen one of the words, you need to remember the second.
Description of the exercise
The exercise is performed in three stages.
For memorization, you are offered several pairs of words written in two columns. For each pair, you need to create an association. Consider this exercise using the example of three pairs of words.
Ship - Spiral - imagine a ship spiraling up into the sky
Circus - Star - a performance in a circus in which the arena is not round, but in the form of a pentagonal star. A trainer stands in the center, and a lion sits in each corner of the star.
Aquarium - Impression - the problem in this case lies in the rather abstract word impression. If an aquarium and a circus can be imagined without difficulty, then such a difficult word as an impression will be much more difficult to master. In such cases, instead of an abstract word, an image similar in meaning is selected to participate in the association, which can be expressed more specifically. In this case, one can imagine the following picture: the owner of the aquarium, being greatly impressed by the beauty of the fish living in this aquarium, pulled it out into the street, stopped those passing by so that everyone could see this aquarium and admire it.
At the second stage, while looking through the words of the left column, based on the created associations, you remember the words of the right column. After reading the word ship, you see how it rises into the sky and remember the word spiral. The pentagonal arena of the circus will tell you the star, and an enthusiastic eccentric with an aquarium will remind you of the impression.
3. Checking what you managed to remember. Although the use of the associative method will immediately increase the number of memorized words, it is rarely one hundred percent. There are several reasons for this - lack of experience in working with images, ignorance of one's own characteristics. Regular training will develop your abilities and improve the quality of memorization.
If you think that this is too simple, and in order to remember the second word, it is not at all necessary to build any associations, try to complete the exercise (how to do it on this site is described below), at least for 10 words, first just relying on your memory, and then using your imagination and associations.
For the future
After you acquire the first skills in this exercise, you can increase the number of memorized pairs of words, and set a time limit for which they must be memorized. Try to bring the number of memorized pairs to at least 20 in 40 seconds.
Word list
Description of the exercise
This is an exercise in memorizing a sequence of unrelated words. Its implementation is based on the method of associations. The essence of the exercise is as follows:
Link the first two words with the help of an association.
Connect the second and third word with the help of an association.
3. etc. to the end of the list
As a result of performing the described operations, it turns out that each word in the chain is associated with the previous and subsequent words, being a link in the chain of associations.
An example of using the "Word List" method
Let's remember the following sequence:
Knife - Flattery - Fox - Needle - Shelter - Teacher - Suitcase - Phrase - Scales - Moss
For a given verbal chain, the following chain of associations can be made.
Having obtained the Knife with the help of Flattery, the Fox lured the Needle into the house where she found shelter. She was given shelter by the Teacher, who walked everywhere with the Suitcase. A Phrase was uttered that the suitcase contains Scales, which will need to be mixed with Moss.
Thus, we get a more or less coherent story made up of these words. And most importantly, the story, unlike the list of words on the basis of which it was created, will be remembered by itself. And with it, the list of words itself.