A great amount of research has been conducted on the cognitive aspects of mnemonics. The present research began the exploration of some motivational aspects of mnemonics—factors that can affect how much people might want to use mnemonics. College students used the rhyming Peg mnemonic to learn 12 sayings (e.g., Curiosity killed the cat), or used the Link mnemonic to learn 22 errands (e.g., get a haircut). Under some conditions the mnemonic students rated the two tasks as being less difficult and requiring less effort than did control students. They also rated the tasks as being more interesting and more enjoyable than did control students. The results suggest that mnemonics do have potential motivational properties that may be worth investigating further.
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