Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of RehearsalDoes Rehearsal Work?Strategies
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Rehearsal
Does Rehearsal Work?
Strategies
Elaborative rehearsal is a way to memorize information more effectively and maintain it in yourlong-term memory. This method of memorization connects information you already know with new information.
This article explains how elaborative rehearsal can be used as as a memory aid and how it compares to maintenance rehearsal, another method of memorization.
Hero Images / Getty Images
What Is Elaborative Rehearsal?
Long-term memories are those that span from days to decades. Short-term memories, on the other hand, include those from a few seconds to a few days.
There are two types of memory rehearsal: maintenance and elaborative. Both involve repetition to move new information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. However, each kind of rehearsal works differently.
Maintenance rehearsal is the straight repeating of information to memorize it. This type of rehearsal is also calledrote rehearsal. This type of rehearsal can be mental, where you’re thinking about and repeating the information in your mind. It can also be verbal, where you’re speaking and repeating the information aloud.
Repeating the digits of a phone number until you dial them is an example of maintenance rehearsal.
Elaborative rehearsal is more complex than maintenance rehearsal. It uses different encoding strategies to link new information with information you already know.
Strategies may include:
What Is a Mnemonic Device?A mnemonic device is a learning technique that uses different strategies to encode and retrieve new information. It is based on the idea that your mind can recall relatable details.Using acronyms and rhymes to help memorize new information are examples of mnemonic devices.
What Is a Mnemonic Device?
A mnemonic device is a learning technique that uses different strategies to encode and retrieve new information. It is based on the idea that your mind can recall relatable details.Using acronyms and rhymes to help memorize new information are examples of mnemonic devices.
While everyone benefits from using rehearsal to help remember things, some groups may find it particularly helpful, including:
Multiple research studies have evaluated the effectiveness of rehearsing information to recall it later.
For example, a 2015 study found that rehearsing details of video clips immediately after watching them improved recall of the videos weeks later.Participants in this study were not directed on how to rehearse. Therefore, this study demonstrated the effectiveness of rehearsal in general, rather than that of a specific type.
However, evidence suggests that maintenance rehearsal is primarily effective at placing information in your short-term memory. Elaborative rehearsal is more effective at encoding it into your long-term memory.
Dementia
Much of the research about elaborative rehearsal is related to students. However, some research has also evaluated how this method may be helpful in the early stages ofdementia.
In a study published in 2016, researchers found that using a simple mnemonic technique helped compensate for memory deficits in people with mild cognitive impairment and improved mental functioning in early dementia.
How Alzheimer’s Affects Short-Term Memory
Elaborative Rehearsal Strategies
There are many differentelaborative rehearsal strategiesyou can draw on to memorize new information.
Translate Into Your Own Words
After reading something new, tryrephrasingthe information using words that are already familiar to you.
For example, suppose you read that atherosclerosisis the deposit of fatty plaques on artery walls (butplaquesis a new term for you). You might reword this to: Atherosclerosis is when fat and cholesterol harden inside arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart.
By doing this, you translate new information to already stored knowledge. Your existing understanding of cholesterol helps you remember what plaques are. This helps you both build your vocabulary and your ability to grasp new concepts.
You can take it a step further and explain the concept to someone else in your own words.
Use Imagery
Say you want to memorize the names of different types of clouds. Using imagery can help you remember the name and shape of each type.
For example, a cumulus cloud is puffy with rounded towers. To remember both the term and the form, you may think:
You can then draw on an image of a tower of building blocks to help you remember a towering cumulus cloud.
In addition, you could use color to help you. For example, assigning the color yellow tonimbusclouds may remind you of your yellow rain boots. This can help you recall that these clouds carry rain.
Grouping
Grouping, also called “chunking,” is an effective strategy that groups smaller categories into larger ones to make them easier to recall.This is especially effective for remembering lists of things.
For instance, let’s say you’re packing for a trip and you need to remember toothpaste, snacks, shampoo, headphones, deodorant, a book, a sleeping bag, and a pillow.
Think of how these different items are related and break your list up accordingly. So, in this case, you may bucket the items as follows:
Toiletries:
Sleep:
Travel activities:
Grouping builds on information you already know because it relies on established connections and associations in your memory.
Use Mnemonic Strategies
Mnemonic strategies can be beneficial in learning names or terms, and in following directions and completing tasks.Some examples of mnemonic devices include:
Summary
Elaborative rehearsal is one of two types of memorization. It uses many different strategies to commit new information to longer-term memory.
It relies on connecting information you already know to new information. Mnemonic devices are commonly used in elaborative rehearsal.
Frequently Asked QuestionsThere are two types of rehearsal: maintenance and elaborative. Maintenance rehearsal (also known as rote memorization) involves repeating information (out loud or in your head). Elaborative rehearsal is more elaborate and involves additional memory aids like mnemonic devices.Elaborative rehearsal is more effective for long-term memory retention.By using memory aids—such as grouping, using images, or quizzing yourself on the information you need to learn—you are more likely to have a stronger long-term retention rate than you would if you used maintenance rehearsal.Yes. Studies have demonstrated that elaborative rehearsal is an effective way to retain information.That depends on what information you need to remember and for how long. While elaborative rehearsal is effective for the information you want to remember long-term, there may be cases (like remembering a phone number) when maintenance rehearsal may be appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are two types of rehearsal: maintenance and elaborative. Maintenance rehearsal (also known as rote memorization) involves repeating information (out loud or in your head). Elaborative rehearsal is more elaborate and involves additional memory aids like mnemonic devices.
Elaborative rehearsal is more effective for long-term memory retention.By using memory aids—such as grouping, using images, or quizzing yourself on the information you need to learn—you are more likely to have a stronger long-term retention rate than you would if you used maintenance rehearsal.
Yes. Studies have demonstrated that elaborative rehearsal is an effective way to retain information.
That depends on what information you need to remember and for how long. While elaborative rehearsal is effective for the information you want to remember long-term, there may be cases (like remembering a phone number) when maintenance rehearsal may be appropriate.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kheirzadeh S, Pakzadian SS.Depth of processing and age differences.J Psycholinguist Res. 2016;45(5):1137-49. doi:10.1007/s10936-015-9395-x
Stroke Association.Memory Problems.
Chai WJ, Abd Hamid AI, Abdullah JM.Working memory from the psychological and neurosciences perspectives: A review.Front Psychol. 2018;9:401. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00401
Mostafa EA, El Midany AAH.Review of mnemonic devices and their applications in cardiothoracic surgery.Journal of the Egyptian Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. 2017;25(1):79-90. doi:10.1016/j.jescts.2017.03.005
Arthritis Foundation.Fiber Fog.
Bird CM, Keidel JL, Ing LP, Horner AJ, Burgess N.Consolidation of complex events via reinstatement in posterior cingulate cortex.J Neurosci. 2015;35(43):14426-34. doi:10.1523/NEUROSCI.1774-15.2015
Khalil MK, Elkhider IA.Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction.Advances in Physiology Education. 2016;40(2):147-156. doi:10.1152/advan.00138.2015
Dimitriadis SI, Tarnanas I, Wiederhold M, Wiederhold B, Tsolaki M, Fleisch E.Mnemonic strategy training of the elderly at risk for dementia enhances integration of information processing via cross-frequency coupling.Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.2016;2(4):241-249. doi:10.1016/j.trci.2016.08.004
National Institute on Aging.What are the signs of Alzheimer’s disease?
Pearson J, Naselaris T, Holmes EA, Kosslyn SM.Mental Imagery: Functional Mechanisms and Clinical Applications.Trends Cogn Sci. 2015;19(10):590-602. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.08.003
Norris D, Kalm K.Chunking and data compression in verbal short-term memory.Cognition. 2021;208. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104534
Radović T, Manzey D.The impact of a mnemonic acronym on learning and performing a procedural task and its resilience toward interruptions.Front Psychol. 2019;10:2522. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02522
Goldstein EB.Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience. 5th ed. Cengage Learning; 2019.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
