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Psychology Mnemonics


David Webb (Owner, writer & host of All-About-Psychology.Com)


Psychology Mnemonics

Welcome to the psychology mnemonics page here on the All About Psychology website. A mnemonic device is a memory aid or technique that helps people remember information more easily. Mnemonics can be in the form of acronyms, rhymes, songs, visual imagery, or other creative methods that associate information with something more memorable. 

Mnemonic devices are extremely useful when you are trying to memorize information and as such were something that I personally used on a regular basis as part of my revision for psychology tests and exams.

In a landmark study on the subject titled "An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Mnemonic Devices as Aids to Study" Gerald R. Miller from the University of Texas at El Paso, found that mnemonic devices can lead to great improvement in test scores; as high as a 77 percent improvement in one case!


How Do Mnemonic Devices Work?

The most common mnemonic device draws upon the first letter of each word within an appropriately arranged sentence. A classic example being the mnemonic used to remember the colors of the rainbow:

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain


Mnemonic Device Examples

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete-operational, Formal-operational

Smart People Cook Fish


Freud's Psychosexual Stages Of Development

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Orange Aardvarks Punish Lazy Goats


Create Your Own Mnemonic Devices


Thanks to the NASA Cognition Lab you can easily generate your own mnemonic devices for free. So you why not give it a go next time you have a test or exam. It's fun and it can really help improve your grades.

Click Here to make your own personalized mnemonic devices.



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