Mnemonic Techniques Used by College Students in Paired-Associate Learning

Abstract

9 categories of mnemonic techniques college students would employ in paired-associate learning were delineated. No significant differences were found between men and women by category of memory aids, and the 9 categories of memory aids were divided into two major classifications. The primary aids accounted for 59% of the memory aids reported and were evenly distributed (about 15%) among first letter, imagery, phonetic clustering, and simple repetition. The remaining 41% were evenly distributed (about 8%) among the secondary aids of semantic clustering, other, descriptive story, personal experience, and mediation. There was a significant difference in total percentages of memory aids between the primary and secondary classifications but not within the classifications.