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Reading Information Aloud To Yourself Improves Memory (qz.com)

According to a study in the journal Memory, reading aloud works by creating a "production effect" which cements information in your memory. Meanwhile, hearing words said in your own voice personalizes the references and enhances recollection, according to psychology professor Colin MacLeod and researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Quartz reports: The findings are based on a study of 95 students (75 of whom returned for a second session) at the University of Waterloo. The students were tested on their ability to recall written information inputted in four different ways -- reading silently, hearing someone else read, listening to a recording of oneself reading, and reading aloud in real time. They were tested on recollection of short, four-to-six letter words on a list of 160 terms. The results show that reading information aloud to oneself led to the best recall. Oral production is effective because it has two distinctive components, a motor or speech act and a personal auditory input, the researchers explain. "[The] results suggest that production is memorable in part because it includes a distinctive, self-referential component. This may well underlie why rehearsal is so valuable in learning and remembering," the study concludes. "We do it ourselves, and we do it in our own voice. When it comes time to recover the information, we can use this distinctive component to help us to remember."

7 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. News? by Knuckles · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anyone who ever had to learn stuff knows this.

    --
    "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
    1. Re:News? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      But apparently some people still need to read it to themselves aloud.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:News? by Knuckles · · Score: 2

      Sure, handwriting helps too. Each person's MMV. This has been common knowledge for decades

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
  2. Preprint? by Forget4it · · Score: 2

    The original article is paywalled. Does any have a pre-print? I'd like to read it aloud to myself.

    --
    Artificial intelligence is the study of how to make real computers act like the ones in the movies.
  3. I talk to myself while I perform tasks by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    I describe what I'm doing. When I do it again, I can almost hear myself giving advice. I don't always actually vocalize, sometimes I only subvocalize. It depends on if there's someone nearby who will think I'm some kind of weirdo dingbat.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. According to a study... by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 2

    ...Of a tiny number of people selected from a population that is already highly homogeneous, which is further homogenized by age, education, and probably other socioeconomic factors, studies conducted using minuscule samples of already homogeneous populations testing highly subjective things are completely fucking worthless, and any information gleaned that happens to be true is true only by accident, coincidentally. Iâ(TM)m pretty sick of shit like this being presented seriously as if itâ(TM)s rigorous science. Must be a slow news day.

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    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  5. Re: How do you listen to yourself without reading by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you listen to a recording of yourself, all you'll remember is "Do I really sound like that?!".

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    #DeleteFacebook