The method of loci is an optimal policy for memory search
- Qiong Zhang, Princeton Neuroscience Institute , Princeton University , Princeton , New Jersey, United States
- Kenneth Norman, Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Tom Griffiths, Department of Psychology and Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
AbstractThe method of loci is a powerful mnemonic technique for memorizing a list of unrelated items. With a pre-specified route in a familiar "memory palace'', one can encode material by attaching items to loci along this route, and later effectively recall them by mentally walking along the same route. Despite its efficacy, there is no existing model that explains why the method of loci promotes memory improvement during memory search. To fill this gap, we provide a rational account of why the method of loci improves memory. We define memory search as a task with the goal of minimizing retrieval cost, and demonstrate that the method of loci gives an optimal policy for this task. We discuss the implications of this result, and compare it with models of memory search without using mnemonic techniques.