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External Memory Aids: Effects and Effectiveness

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Memory Improvement

Abstract

Do external memory aids improve memory? Our tentative answer is yes, some of the time. Research on external memory aids still is in its infancy and, as such, offers partial information. The use of devices external to people, such as shopping lists, calendar entries, and alarm clocks, to aid memory has only recently been of interest to psychologists, perhaps because the devices have been considered incidental, peripheral, or even unrelated to traditional memory. Indeed, one can ask whether memory is involved when we consult our grocery list or a dental appointment noted in our (electronic) calendars. We conclude that the use of external memory aids is widespread and that their use both influences and is influenced by memory.

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Authors
  1. Margaret Jean Intons-Peterson
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  2. George L. Newsome III
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Health Statistics, 20782, Hyattsville, MD, USA

    Douglas J. Herrmann

  2. NIMH, 20892, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Herbert Weingartner

  3. Department of Psychology, St. Lawrence University, 13617, Canton, NY, USA

    Alan Searleman

  4. Department of Aging and Mental Health, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., 33612-3899, Tampa, FL, USA

    Cathy McEvoy

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Intons-Peterson, M.J., Newsome, G.L. (1992). External Memory Aids: Effects and Effectiveness. In: Herrmann, D.J., Weingartner, H., Searleman, A., McEvoy, C. (eds) Memory Improvement. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2760-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2760-1_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7656-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2760-1

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