April 29th, 2013 by iMindMap
In this guest post, Thomas Jones, a
Psychology student who spent some time working with us at the ThinkBuzan
Headquarters, applies his know-how to Mind Mapping and the cognitive processes
and theories behind the technique…
Mind mapping is one of the most powerful tools in anyone’s
arsenal when it comes to remembering vast quantities of information; it
provides the user with their own personal tree of knowledge on a subject of
their choice.
Semantic Network Model
One of the ideas behind Mind Maps is Semantic Network Models
(Collins & Quillian, 1969) which says that everyone has their own personal
spider’s web, connecting everything they know about objects together, e.g. Red
is connected to fire, blood, love. If one section of the networking models is
activated, the surrounding links are activated. Our own personal experiences
shape these connections and everybody’s semantic network models are different.
Mind Mapping takes a certain subject and links everything a person knows about
this subject together. This provides a vast quantity of information on one
subject on a single page.
Why Remembering is so Hard
Atkinson and Schiffrin (1968) founded the theory of the Multi
Store Model, which was based on the idea that memory passes through 3 stages.
Sensory memory is the first stage of the Multi Store Model and this is where
all of the information gathered from our senses is initially collected. This
information is passed on to our short term memory which, if recalled, can be
processed in our long term memory and retained for longer periods of time.
How to Remember Things
One of the main models
for memory is known as the Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974)
which claims that the mind has separate areas to do certain tasks. For example,
the Visuo-spatial sketchpad analyses the visual world that surrounds us and
take in information based on colour, shape, movement, and location. It is the
component that prevents us from bumping into objects, recognising faces and
other important factors that determine the way we interpret the world. The
sketch pad registers stimuli which grab our attention. The more attention we
pay to a stimuli, the more likely it is that we will remember it. However, it
can backfire making us forget the duller features in our environment which are
also important.
The basic rules for memories to be remembered are that they must
fall into at least one of the following categories:
- Memorable
- Unique
- Recalled
- Chunked or linked
These factors help us
remember exceptional events in real life. For example, if you repeat a certain
action every morning (eat cereal) then you can vividly visualise eating cereal
with ease. You are also more likely to recall information such as phone numbers
if you chunk the digits together (01234-567-890).
The easiest way to
exploit all of the
categories is with a Mind Map.
Why Mind Maps Help
ThinkBuzan’s iMindMap
software takes full advantage of this information and allows you to draw the
connections between information, highlight important pieces of information and
thus gives you the opportunity to remember vast quantities of information at
ease.
Recalling the 4 rules
above, Mind Mapping incorporates all of these. Other revision methods only
utilise 1 or 2.
1) Memorable:
This is the easiest
rule to follow while creating Mind Maps because it is automatically done while
creating the map. The physical creation of the Mind Map helps us visualise the
map in our head when sitting in the exam room or presenting a speech. It’s
easier to recall information because you follow the branches to the points you
are trying to make.
2) Unique:
If you want to
remember a really specific piece of information in your Mind Map, make it stand
out. Change the colour of the branch to one you haven’t used or add a picture
or diagram to help you remember it. One of the most powerful techniques is to
add humour. If you have an
emotional connection to a specific piece of information, especially a positive
one like humour, it is more likely to stand out in your mind.
3) Recalled:
Although the actual
creation of the Mind Map will help recall a lot of information, you will still
have to revise the map thoroughly. Repeating information and identifying the
connections is a good way to remember information in the long run.
4) Chunking/Linking:
The branches are a
simple and visually stimulating way to take a subject and chunk of all of the
vital points into one neat section. You can use arrows to link certain piece of
information together which are on separate branches. This trail helps you to
make essays or speeches flow as you can see the relationship between the
branches. In essay writing, this is especially important as you can prioritise
the amount of time spent writing about key pieces of information and making the
information which you include relevant.
One Last Thing – DIY
This last piece of
advice and it gets its own title because I cannot stress enough how important
this is. To get the maximum memorable benefits you have to create your own Mind
Map rather than
share someone else’s. Like the semantic network model, it should be your own
interpretation of information. You will find it more difficult to understand
someone else’s Mind Map as the way they associate and connect information may
not be familiar to you. It takes hardly any time to create a Mind Map and it
will save you far more time revising the information, so no excuses!
Md. Nasir Khan
Director
Central Academic Research & Development
(CARD), Manipur Creative School
ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructor
MindMap, iMindMap, MemorySkills,
SpeedReading & CreativeTeaching
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