Pegword Mnemonic

Learning to Use the Pegword Mnemonics

Pegword mnemonic is a technique that combines visual and auditory memory for remembering ordered lists. With the pegword mnemonic, an interactive image is developed to join each of the items on the list to each of a series of pegs.

This technique provides a system of remembering numbers, nouns and the numerical order of nouns. This is based on the same sort of idea as the method of loci Opens in new window, but instead of using location as cues, it uses numbers. These numbers are then transformed into visual images by means of the following simple rhyme:

As we've seen, pegs are words that rhyme with numbers; these words, memorized by a learner prior to a particular memory task, may be used to assist recall of any list of items. The rhyme Opens in new window must be learned by rote until it is over-learned.

Accordingly, the pegword technique is not as quickly mastered as the method of loci, where cues already over-learned are used. It does however have an advantage over the method of loci, in that the items learned are not tide to a particular sequence, and therefore it’s not necessary to recall the whole list to retrieve a single item. That is, you can simply ask yourself what number 7 is, without having to go through the first six items to get there.

It is also ideal for learning numbered lists, such s the cranial nerves:

• 1 is a bun and cranial nerve 1 is olfactory. So you could visualize a nose diving into a bun;
• 2 is a shoe, and cranial nerve 2 is optic;
• 3 is a tree, and cranial nerve 3 is oculomotor — so continuing with the eye theme, and bringing in something that cues us to motor;
• 4 is a door, and cranial nerve 4 is trochlear — still with the eyes, and bringing in a truck to cue us to the name;
• 5 is a hive, and cranial nerve 5 is trigeminal, which relates to the jaw — so something to cue the jaw and something to cue the name (three gems):

• 6 is sticks, and cranial nerve 6 is abducens &mdsh; back to the eyes, and bringing in a ufo to cue the name (alien abduction);
• 7 is heaven, and cranial nerve 7 is facial;
• 8 is a gate, and cranial nerve 8 is auditory, so we can visualize our gate bearing some ears;
• 9 is wine, and cranial nerve 9 is glossopharyngeal, which relates to the throat;
• 10 is a hen, and cranial nerve 10 is vagus, which relates to the heart;
• cranial nerve 11 is accessory, which relates to head movement, so we can use a bag to indicate an accessory, and try to put our lemons and our shrunken head into it;
• cranial nerve 12 is hypoglossal, which relates to the tongue, we can use a hypodermic needle to cue the name.

Applying the Pegword Technique

One of the potential problems with the pegword technique is the question of how many lists you can hang off the same pegs. However, one early study found no problems with interference when volunteers learned six consecutive reordering of the same nouns (although the lists did not have to be remembered very long, and researchers suspect interference would increasingly have become a problem for memory over time).

Similarly, a recent study found dramatic benefits from using a combined pegword-keyword mnemonic to remember three different lists (the 10 highest mountains, the 10 tallest waterfalls, the 10 largest volcanoes), as well as two training lists: tested five days after learning these, average recall was 63.5%, 51.3%, and 30.9% respectively for those using the mnemonic, compared to 42.2%, 26.1%, and 17.4% for those using their own methods.

In other words, yes there is interference, but using the pegword mnemonic is decidedly better than not using it. Nor do we know how much more effective the mnemonic may have been if the lists had been spaced out

Interference Opens in new window is always going to occur if you try and learn different lists at the same time, regardless of technique. Leveraging the distribution of practice Opens in new window, the best way is to space out your lists a little, achieving a certain level of mastery of one list before tackling a new one. If you do feel there might be some confusion between the lists, you might find it helpful to provide a distinctive mark for each list (that appears in the mnemonic image for each item on the list).

Although concrete, visualizable words are always better if you can find appropriate ones, two studies, have found abstract pegwords (e.g., one is fun, two is true, three is free, four is more, five is alive, six is for kicks, seven is even, eight is late, nine is fine, ten is then) could be just as effective as concrete ones. But this has not been found consistently. It seems to depend on your imagery ability.

In sum, the pegword technique requires that you learn the pegs very well. It enables you to go directly to any item on a list and is the best technique for a numbered list.