Providing Distinctive Cues to Augment Human Memory

Providing Distinctive Cues to Augment Human Memory Jeanine K. Stefanucci (jks8s@virginia.edu) Department of Psychology, 102 Gilmer Hall, Box 400400 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400 Dennis R. Proffitt (drp@virginia.edu) Department of Psychology, 102 Gilmer Hall, Box 400400 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400 Abstract Previous research in our lab (Tan, Stefanucci, Proffitt & Pausch, 2001) demonstrated that a multimodal prototype computer system, the InfoCockpit, could increase users’ memory of information compared to a standard desktop computer. Displaying information on multiple monitors with ambient visual and auditory dispays engages context-dependent memory and memory for location, thus facilitating recall. We replicate this finding and isolate the memory cues to find whether the combination of contextual information and spatial location is necessary to obtain this memory advantage. Our findings show that contextual information alone provides users with the best strategy for later recall. Introduction In the past years, computer interfaces have been designed with the goal of promoting usability. These interfaces have a consistent “look and feel” that fosters usability but does not help the user remember information learned on the system. Our research examines a newly built interface, termed the InfoCockpit, which supports and aids human memory and performance while preserving usability. The design of the InfoCockpit is based on psychological research that has uncovered many ways of improving memory through the use of spatial and environmental memory cues. These cues are incorporated into the InfoCockpit so that users can more easily recall information that they learn on the computer. This system provides users with “locations” and “places” to hook their memories onto without compromising usability. Creating Place Memories are tied to the environmental context in which they take place (Smith, Glenberg, & Bjork, 1978). For example, one might try to help a friend remember a conversation by referencing the context of that conversation (e.g. “don’t you remember we talked about this at the coffee shop downtown?”). Having recalled the place of the conversation, the friend can more easily remember what was said. This strategy recruits an important cue for human memory; the context or “place” is a reference to start a search for the information discussed. Being in places, or referencing them, evokes memories and increases the chances of remembering information. Psychologists have researched the use of environmental context as a cue for memory for the past few decades (Godden & Baddeley, 1975; Smith, Glenberg & Bjork, 1978). Smith (1979) found that people associate information and the environmental context in which it is learned. Although these associations are often incidental, they can be useful retrieval cues when recalling information. Smith (1982) also had participants encode information in multiple learning environments or different “places”. He showed that the amount of information recalled increases when learning takes place in different contexts. In further studies, however, Smith (1984) found that recall performance in multiple learning contexts was not significantly improved when participants returned to the place that they were in at the time of encoding. Diverse learning environments provide a memory advantage over a single learning environment but this advantage is not contingent upon reinstatement of the context at retrieval. In addition to the number of learning environments, contexts that are distinctive can also increase memory performance. Places that draw attention are the most effective in producing a memory advantage (Smith, Vela, & Williamson, 1988). Learning information through different sensory modalities can create a distinctive context. In addition to visual cues, ambient three-dimensional sounds can serve as distinctive cues for memory. It has been shown that ambient sounds enhance memory for visual information presented in their context (Davis, Scott, Pair, Hodges, & Oliverio, J., Providing Location Memories are also tied to a location in space (Gordon, 1903). Whereas we use “place” to denote an ambient environmental context, “location” refers to the position of information within that “place”. We cannot help but

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society

• Publication date

  Unknown publication date

• Fields of study

  Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.4324/9781315782379-179
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

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• No concepts are published for this paper.

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