Four principles of mnemonics

Association

Mnemonic principles include associating thoughts. This is accomplished by substituting words, exaggerating out of proportion, or action associations. Simply put: set cues with sound-alike words or visually associate words using some outrageous exaggeration connecting the two. Visualize the picture out of proportion.⁶⁸ The more outrageous and exaggerated the association, the more likely you are to remember it later.

Concreteness

A second principle revolves around the concreteness of the items being associated. Tangible objects are much easier to visualize than intangibles. Picturing an apple in your "mind's eye" is not a difficult task, but picturing "truth" is difficult. Connect it to what you already know. Another way to get information into long-term memory is to connect it to information already stored there. If some facts or ideas in a chapter seem to stay in your memory easily, associate other facts with these concepts.⁶⁹ Transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory is aided by making it meaningful.

Automaticity

A third principle is that the other principles can be automated. Learning the principles and using them leads to a point where no conscious effort is needed to apply them.

Forced awareness

A forth principle is the forced awareness resulting from actively observing your memory habits. You are becoming "mindful", actively perceiving your environment and observing the nature of your thoughts.⁷⁰

Difficulties with memory can affect all skill areas rather than just causing problems in one specific area. Adults with learning disabilities often struggle due to problems with storing and retrieving information. As previously mentioned, the first step is to discover together with learners how they learn or process information best. In addition to using mnemonics, practitioners can adapt their instruction and presentation of information to help aid in the storage and retrieval of information.