Memory is the ability to retain information throughout life. It is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. In the processes of memorizing there are four phases

•      Encoding that is the process through which we focus attention on new information that will be analyzed. Attention and motivation determine how well the memory trace will be stored.

•      Consolidation refers to all the changes and the adjustments of the new acquired knowledge and it creates a more powerful representation over time.

•      Storage is very important to remember because it generates and maintains a permanent record. The storage capacity appears to be unlimited.

•      Retrieval uses the stored information in order to generate a conscious representation or to carry out a learned behavior.

Memory can be classified in:

  • Short-term memory, that is subject to severe capacity limitations, it is the memory that allows us to remember things for a few seconds or minutes. It is the part of memory in which the information we receive for the first time is recorded. Short-term memory is divided into verbal , visuo-spatial and working memory.
  • Long-term memory enables us to remember information whenever we need it; in fact that information is part of our cultural baggage. It can be divided into explicit and implicit memory.
  • Sensory memory is the kind of memory that allows us to remember what was recorded by our five senses. We can talk about to visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory memory.

Every person has a powerful system for classification, storage and retrieval of information that is far and away the best in the world, in terms of flexibility, speed and capacity. But this system is, at the same time, vulnerable if an external factor affects the natural balance of the mind. The main danger that can threaten the memory efficiency is anxiety. This phenomenon, under normal circumstances, is a psychological and organic charge that allows us to tackle daily, so it is defined as a positive and creative strain which is at the basis of intelligence. Anxiety, as a physiological condition, is experienced by every human being and it coincides with an alarm reaction in response to a situation perceived as stressful or dangerous. But when an alarm reaction is triggered without an adequate stimulus, when behavioral responses are inadequate or not beneficial to the individual, anxiety blocks the actions of people and it becomes cause of insecurity and suffering. In such situations it is defined pathological. Performance anxiety is the most common forms of anxiety, particularly among young people that have to deal with exercises or exams. It is different from other forms of anxiety due to the environmental context that is represented by schools, universities and similar agencies which, with specific rules and structures, set certain standards that must be achieved. The vulnerability of an anxious student concerns his performance. Indeed, he may panic because he fears receiving low marks, or failing at something. The boy may be convinced that if he does not respect the ideal of perfection he would be badly judged by others.

So performance anxiety is an inhibitory factor in students, at any age; it is important to be able to recognize it and, at the same time, we have to channel this emotional charge in order succeed and to achieve better results. One way to minimize the problem of anxiety is to understand the basis of learning, we have to be conscious that it cannot be the result of simple associations, but it is the result of the elaboration of information. Learning something is never a simple process of storing concepts, but it is a process of connecting a new piece of information with the information already stored in the long-term memory. The knowledge is “built” rather than recorded or simply understood, and this construction is influenced by how the previous knowledge was structured. Traditionally it was thought that memory was the next stage of learning, but nowadays we know that memory is absolutely necessary for learning, since without it we cannot record, store, and remember things that we have learned. So we can affirm that if we improve and develop our memory, by using some techniques, learning would be easier, what we learned will remain in our long-term memory forever and, consequently, anxiety for not pass the exams or for forget the entire lesson will decrease. Students will be more self-confident and, consequently, they overcome their fears. Mnemonic techniques can be very helpful to increase the faith in their abilities, and to fix certain concepts in your long-term memory, so that never forget them. These techniques are scientific methods aimed at storing any kind of information. They are based on the same concept that our memory creates images that are generated by the emotions that we feel, in fact everything that emotionally affects us is automatically stored in long-term memory. It is not the number of times we repeat something that enables us to remember, but the emotion that we feel when something happens. So to fix new concepts in our memory we have to try to make them more engaging. According to these concepts, the most important mnemonic techniques are:

  • The loci system that uses locations of familiar places as a framework for memory retrieval; it is also commonly called the “mental walk”.
  • The phonetic system that is the most sophisticated and also the most complex of the mnemonic techniques. In the phonetic system each of the digits from 0 to 9 is represented by a consonant sound, these consonant sounds are then combined with vowels to code numbers into words, which are more meaningful and thus easier to remember than numbers. It is possible to remember any numerical information that was coded into words.
  • The mind maps which are a powerful graphic technique that provides a universal key to unlock the brain’s potential. A mind map is a diagram used to represent texts, ideas, tasks, or other items organized and arranged around a central key word or idea. A mind map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.

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