Mechanical and logical memory: distinctive features and ways of development

The vast majority of people believe that memory is just a kind of "storehouse" for information. However, professionals have long found out that there are at least two different components - mechanical and logical memory. They have their own distinctive features and specific ways of development.

In psychology, the difference between types of memory is distinguished not only because it is convenient. Several studies have shown that this division corresponds to the true reality. So, the mechanical memory of a person implies the preservation of material and facts in the state in which they were understood. If, for example, a foreign language or previously unknown terms of the native language is being studied, the words will be learned in isolation. Foreign language is mentioned for a reason. Only purely mechanically, you can initially assimilate words and grammatical structures that are unfamiliar to oneself.

In this case, they form clear, bright and juicy images. Attempts to abandon the use of mechanical memory inevitably provoke significant errors... But it is needed not only in purely informational terms. It is on mechanical memory that the development of simple motor stereotypes, including the skills of performing physical exercises, is ultimately based.

But mechanical memory also has significant limitations.... So, although it is valuable as prompt assistance in difficult cases, it does not allow us to immediately weed out mistakes and shortcomings.If ready-made speech formulas or athletic exercises are mastered immediately incorrectly, it will be extremely difficult to correct these deviations. For many people, this is even almost impossible to do. In addition, even with a slight change in conditions or requirements, the use of a mechanically learned skill is difficult.

Logical memory works differently. It focuses not so much on the outer shape as on the content of the material being processed. In this case, the definitions of various terms are carefully studied, semantic chains are formed between specific facts and judgments. And even in the same physical definitions, you can trace your logic, consistency. The assimilated information is carefully analyzed and divided into its component parts. Subsequently, you can always even change these information blocks in places or use them creatively in a non-standard, unforeseen situation.

Logical memory does not, however, rely solely on material analysis.... It also needs to be repeated systematically. But this repetition is meaningfully different from that of mechanical reproduction.

The difference between the two types of memory is expressed not only in how they are arranged from the point of view of psychology. Professionals know that mechanical memory is based largely on the first signaling system. Logical memorization is also based on this level of the psyche, but nevertheless it mainly uses the capabilities of the second signaling system. It is worth considering that the mechanical assimilation of information has an important advantage - it is practically inexhaustible. In any case, no specialist can say with certainty what the capacity of this type of memory is in general.

But what is learned mechanically ("jagged") can just as easily be forgotten. Only with systematic new repetitions will the information be saved for a longer period. For example, people's names, addresses or phone numbers that are no longer relevant are quickly forgotten. But by building clear logical chains, you can reduce this risk to a minimum. Undoubtedly, studies of both types of memorization will still reveal a lot of interesting things, but they will no longer refute these basic facts.

In real life, and in every profession, a person needs both mechanical and logical memory. However, the proportions between them are very different. The more dynamically a certain sphere develops, the more complex it is arranged, the less one can rely on some material learned once and for all. And even basic practical approaches become obsolete over time. Role memorization is effective when you need to fix:

• names and dates;
• digital indicators;
• tabular data;
• long lists;
• texts of official documents;
• poetic works;
• formulas used in science and technology, formulations of the laws of nature.

If we take an athlete as an example, then he will learn elementary movements and manipulations mechanically. And this is the most justified way, because they will repeat themselves constantly. But the general strategy leading to victory in the competition, the techniques that allow you to defeat your rivals, are already the prerogative of logical memory. The more complex technology is used in human activities, the more emphasis will have to be made on semantic interrelationships. But in the administrative sphere, office work, the emphasis on routine, repetitive actions and schemes is of primary importance.

In children and adolescents, it is important to develop both mechanical and logical memory. The first is because in educational institutions they have to master a huge amount of information.The second is because it is important to instill the skills of rational comprehension of the incoming data. But here it is also important to pay attention to the temporary stages of the memorization process. Short-term memory is developed by enhancing the ability to transfer data from the abstract to the figurative state.

For this purpose, various types of figurative visualization are suitable. In preschool children, direct mechanical memorization is very intensively developed. As you grow older, this ability steadily diminishes. Still, psychologists recommend such techniques for enhancing mechanical memory in children, such as:

• refusal to assimilate all the material in one approach, dividing it into parts;
• a combination of simple repetition with replay attempts;
• application of mnemonic methods;
• periodic change in the nature of intellectual work;
• maintaining the maximum variety of assimilated material.

The development of logical memory takes place in a slightly different way. This requires dividing it into its component parts when studying each task (problem). It is necessary to understand what is being studied and for what purpose.

If any new information arrives, one must always think about how it affects the already established picture of ideas. Sometimes, because of this, you have to change the sequence of judgments and even abandon the previous conclusions. But along with logical memory, flexibility of thinking will develop. When you need to assimilate something abstract, it is useful to work through associations with more familiar things. However, each association must be catchy and catch the eye with its uniqueness.

So, if you just try to mentally arrange the products that you need to buy in the refrigerator, it will turn out dull and ineffective. But you can arrange them along the route of the trip to the store, for example:

• a carton of milk on a green bench;
• chicken wings sticking out of the hollow of a tree;
• apples that someone throws out of the bus window;
• lettuce leaves hanging on a clothesline;
• a crow dragging a chain of sausages.

The brighter and more expressive the association (and the specific situation), the better. For the development of logical memory, special exercises are needed, such as the "redundant word" (highlighting what clearly does not fit into a series of objects or phenomena for some reason). Examples:

• "Bonfire - motorcycle - dew" (the first two things are dangerous, and the third is not);
• "Fog - falcon - area" (fog has no clear boundaries in space);
• "Lance - antenna - globe - rail" (the globe is the only non-oblong object).

You can do this: read any text fluently, and then briefly state the main theses and nuances on paper. Then this record is verified against the original. They do it differently in order to develop mechanical memory. Exercises such as:

• quick inspection of a complex geometric shape or pattern, with their immediate playback;
• a cursory acquaintance with a large table (the same in essence, but they are already writing numbers that they could remember);
• memorizing a picture, where the names of the colors are not written in the same paint that they indicate;
• pattern reproduction (ornament);
• daily workout - memorizing a list of to-do's, purchases, calls, meetings, scheduled for a meeting or a report of topics, items of expenses and income in the personal budget and the budget of the organization "without a piece of paper".