Definition of Spaced Repetition

We all need to memorize information for some purpose. For the mental exercise of remembering to be effective there are different methods or systems. One of them is the spaced repetition system or SRS. The fundamental idea of ​​it consists of reviewing the information learned in different periods of time.

In this way the sessions of learning they are temporarily distancing themselves and thus the information that is memorized ends up being better retained.

Continuous repetition is the classic memory technique

Most students who try to retain information do the following: the data that students study They keep repeating themselves mentally until a moment comes when their mind retains the accumulated information.

This technique has been shown to be ineffective because our memory it is weak and tends to forget the data held in mind.

A practical example

A student from right you have to study a topic to be examined next. Instead of using many study sessions, SRS would work as follows: it begins by memorizing the topic for two continuous days, then alternate one day yes and one day no, then every four days and finally every week. With this system the student will be able to fix the desired information in his mind.

The SRS system is based on the study of the forgetting curve

At the end of the 19th century the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus investigated the fundamental processes involved in memory. Ebbinghaus himself tested his memory and tried to recall word lists and found how many words were retained and how many were forgotten. The result of his research led to the so-called "forgetting curve." According to this curve, more than half of the data learned is forgotten in the first 24 hours.

The researcher extracted the conclusion that our retentive capacity depends on two factors: the intensity of the memory at the moment when something has Recorded in our mind and the time elapsed since stimulus initial.

If we want to enhance our memory we must use some scientific method that is based on the intensity of the memories and the review Newspaper of the information to be retained. In this way, the forgetting curve is getting smaller and smaller and the accumulated data is better fixed in memory.

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