Short-term memory is often called operational memory - it is almost constantly loaded during the day and it can fit up to seven objects - numbers, words and so on. It lends itself to development and is closely connected with the intellect: people who train their short-term memory are more advanced intellectually.
Short-term memory of a person
Often for clarity, short-term memory in psychology is compared with the computer's RAM, since in essence it functions approximately the same: it is involved in many small processes that occur during the day, and when it is turned off, it is erased. The difference is that it is very easy to increase the computer's RAM, just add a new chip, but with the development of short-term memory, you sometimes have to suffer.
Due to the available volume of short-term memory, a person can recall some information after a while. At the same time, the capacity of such memory is different for everyone - usually 5-7 objects are stored in the head, but in some cases the indicator can be reduced to 4 or increased to 9. Such memory is unstable and allows you to compare prices in the store or remember the phone number from the advertising ads. However, problems with short-term memory can quite strongly interfere with a person in life.
The question of how to train short-term memory is traditionally solved with the help of exercises to memorize a number of numbers, which, incidentally, are also a test that allows you to see how good the current indicators are.
How to improve short-term memory?
It's no secret that for most people, there are short-term memory disruptions with age. However, it's not too late to start training and improve the performance of your mind.
There are many different ways to restore short-term memory, but recently popular is the so-called chunking. This technique is very simple: it is to break the general concept for memorizing into several parts. For example, the usual ten-digit phone number 9095168324 will be much easier to remember if you split it into parts: 909 516 83 24. The same can be done with rows of letters if the training is conducted on them, rather than on numbers. Considers that the optimal length of an individual segment for memorization is three characters.
For example, if you offer a person to memorize a number of letters from the MCHSMUFSBBUZ, most likely, a person will become confused and remember only a short part. If, however, the same is divided into segments of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the MSU FSB HEI, remembering the sequence will be quite simple, because each segment causes a stable association.
Short-term memory and mnemonics
Mnemonics is a substitution of abstract objects for concepts that have a concrete representation, whether visually, audibly or otherwise. This makes it easier to memorize. Mnemonics is directly related to memory and sense organs, which means that everything that causes associative image, sound, color, taste, smell or emotion will be remembered much easier. It is important that the images should be pleasant for you.
The simplest example is how you can use this technique. For example, you have a favorite song. To remember the phone number, sing on the motive its information that you need - phone number, important data, etc. You will reproduce this information much easier. However, this method usually affects not even short-term memory, but long-term memory.