Week 16- Liya Abil- Memory in Studying

 AP testing week is upon us. The week where we cram a millions pieces of information into our brains, praying that we remember everything. The studying process is chaotic, stressful, and interrupted by multiple mental breakdowns and crying sessions, but thanks to AP Psychology, I have learned some tips that could be extremely helpful in retaining information. 

Deep level processing is going to be your best friend, which involves retaining the material in a meaningful way rather than mindlessly memorizing definitions or concepts. This can be done by connecting concepts to something that is meaningful to you, as familiarity will help with the remembering and processing of information. Yesterday, I was doing my best to remember Erikson’s 8 psychosocial development stages. The first stage is “trust vs. mistrust,” when the infant has to grow trust towards their parents; this is followed by “autonomy vs. shame and doubt,” when the child is encouraged to explore their environment and identify objects. I connected my own life to this, remembering stories about how I would only trust and be comfortable around my mom as a newborn, and when I grew up a little, I would run up and down the stairs of our apartment building, exploring everything in my view. The third stage is “initiative vs. guilt,” when the child starts to make decisions and the fourth is “industry vs. inferiority,” when the child goes to school and is productive. I connected these two stages to how I started taking initiative dressing myself as a toddler and to my first day in kindergarten, where I learned the ABCs. I continued this for the next four stages as well, allowing me to process the stages on a deeper level. 

Another way to learn is through the use of mnemonic devices, such as acronyms. This helped me learn the big five personality traits created by Paul Costa and Robert Macrae. The acronym is “CANOE,” standing for conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion. Mnemonic devices can create a more organized thought process allowing for the faster retrieval of information, which is necessary as the AP tests are timed. There is so much versatility and creativity when it comes to learning with mnemonic devices, such as creating a jingle or song, chunking, or visual images. The more creative the device is, the more likely one is to remember the information because of the unique way it is stored in one’s head compared to the other monotonous facts and information lying around. 

AP week is an extremely stressful time. But trust me, with these methods, it can help ease the stress tremendously. From one AP victim to another, I wish you all the best with your exams.