Memory is a cognitive skill that allows us to have identity, learn, store memories, and consolidate or reinforce the imprint of what we’ve already learned. Metamemory is the knowledge of our own memory and how it works. Can it be enhanced? Read on to discover it!
Metamemory
The knowledge we have of our own memory
- Includes knowledge of the different phases of the memory, codification, storage, retrieval, and retrieval
- More knowledge leads to better understanding of memory, and how to enhance it
- It includes not only knowledge of memory but also its control and mastery
The study of metamemory should be conducted in three main stages:
Acquisition – before learning itself
- Retention – maintaining previously-acquired knowledge
- During or immediately after the acquisition
- Test – evaluates the memory that they expect to obtain when tested on the matter
- After the memory – after employing their memory
Conclusion
Knowing and understanding about memory (metamemory) also implies knowing its strengths (how to take advantage of it) and its limitations
Memory and metamemory
To enhance memory (or to get the most out of it), we often resort to so-called mnemonic rule strategies.
How to promote metamemory
By learning everything we need to know about how memory works
- We need to understand what happens when we encode a memory, when we store and retrieve it, the changes that occur in the brain, and how our emotions influence it
- All this can be learned, no more and no less, than by reading and studying
