The Power of the Beginning and the End

Changing tasks and taking strategic breaks in the middle of a task when you are studying is a great way to improve your memory of what you study. Taking breaks, especially in the middle of something might seem counterintuitive, but you will get exponentially better results from the time you put in. By studying smarter rather than harder, you can accomplish much more in much less time.

If you have read Part 8, then you already know how this strategy can improve memory by making use of the Zeigarnik effect. However, in addition to the Zeigarnik effect itself you will also get an additional benefit. By doing this you add the power of the beginning and the end, better known as primacy and recency effects.

Not only is it easier to remember something that you have left incomplete, it is also easier to remember what you do at the beginning and what you have done most recently. When you actively incorporate strategies to make the best use of the Zeigarnik effect, your are at the same time creating additional beginnings and endings within your study session which also help you improve your memory of what you are learning.

You probably remember your class lectures this way too. It is easy to remember the beginning of the class, right? And also what was discussed at the end, right? How well do you remember the middle? Kind of fuzzy, right? Unless there was something that really piqued your interest or something highly unusual, chances are that your memory of it is less clear than the beginning and end of the class.

Good teachers and professors know this and make use of primacy and recency effects, either intentionally or intuitively, by summarizing the content at the beginning and at the end of their lectures. This way even if the students don't remember every detail, then at least they will be more likely to remember an overview of the content of the lecture. Great teachers not only summarize at the beginning and the end, but will also make use of the Zeigarnik effect near the end of the class to set up your interest in the next lecture and keep you coming back for more.

When you combine primacy and recency effects with the Zeigarnik effect by changing tasks and taking strategic breaks in the middle of tasks as you study, you are creating a kind of learning synergy. The whole of your study effort is greater than the sum of the individual segments - and you rapidly improve your memory of what you learn.

Here's to your success!

Copyright 2005-2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.