雙語·檢索失敗：如果考試時卡殼了怎么辦

Retrieval failure: What to do if you get stuck in an exam
檢索失敗：如果考試時卡殼了怎么辦

Retrieval failure or the failure to remember a memory trace can have multiple reasons. One reason can be a lack of attention during study. Researchers have found that students who do a secondary task while studying underperform in a later test by as much as 30-50% compared to students who focus on one thing at a time. These results suggest that multi-tasking – doing of many activities at once – is particularly harmful to learning.
檢索失敗或者無法回想起一個記憶痕跡，可能有許多原因。一個原因可能是在學(xué)習(xí)時注意力不夠。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，在學(xué)習(xí)的同時做其他事情的學(xué)生，在日后測試中的表現(xiàn)比一次只專注一件事的學(xué)生差30%~50%。這個結(jié)果表明，多任務(wù)處理——同時做許多件事——對于學(xué)習(xí)非常有害。

Another reason for retrieval failure is an insufficient number of activated cues. Cues are pieces of information which are connected to the target memory trace and which must be activated for the memory trace to be retrieved (for more more detailed explanation of context cues, see sections on Retrieval and Interference).
導(dǎo)致檢索失敗的另一個原因是激活線索數(shù)量不足。線索是與目標記憶痕跡相聯(lián)系的信息，要檢索記憶痕跡，必須先激活它們（關(guān)于背景線索的更詳細說明，參見檢索與干擾部分）。

Activation from the cue to the target memory trace spreads faster if more cues are activated simultaneously. As a demonstration, try the following little experiment:
如果有許多線索被同時激活，從線索到目標記憶痕跡的激活就會傳播得更快。為了說明這一點，試試下面這個小實驗：

Think of the name of any kind of supernatural creature.
想任何一種超自然生物的名字。

Now think of a supernatural creature that rhymes with ‘post’.
現(xiàn)在想一種發(fā)音與“悔”押韻的超自然生物。

Did you think of ‘ghost’ on the first time or only after the second question? The first question gave you only one cue, which led to multiple possible target memories. For instance, you may have thought of fairies, gnomes, angels and the like. The second question gave you 2 cues. These two cues jointly generated enough activation of the word ‘ghost’ that far surpassed the activation of other concepts. Therefore, the word ‘ghost’ was retrieved.
你一下子就想到了“鬼”還是在第二個問題之后才想到的？第一個問題只給了你一個線索，可以指向多個可能的目標記憶。例如，你可能想到了仙女、土地神、天使，諸如此類。第二個問題給了你兩個線索，它們共同產(chǎn)生了足夠的激活讓你想起“鬼”這個詞，遠遠超過對其他概念的激活。因此，“鬼”這個詞被檢索出來。

Consider another example from everyday life: You decide to return a book to the library while sitting at the kitchen table. Later, as you pass the library on your way from school, you forget to return the book. However, when you come back home and see the kitchen table, you suddenly remember. Memory traces are encoded together with the context present at encoding. Although the library would surely be a far more relevant context cue than a kitchen table, it was the kitchen table – not the library – that was present during encoding and thus encoded with the intention.
再考慮一個我們每天生活中都會遇到的例子：你坐在廚房餐桌旁時決定把一本書還到圖書館。后來你在上學(xué)路上經(jīng)過圖書館時忘了還書，可是當你回到家，看到廚房的餐桌，突然就想起這回事了。記憶痕跡是和編碼時的背景一起被編碼的。盡管圖書館顯然是比廚房餐桌更相關(guān)的背景線索，但在記憶編碼時出現(xiàn)的是廚房餐桌而不是圖書館，因此它和還書被編碼在了一起。

When you are forming an intention, it is very useful to imagine yourself doing the desired action in the desired context as vividly as possible. For instance, visualize yourself passing the library, entering the building and returning the book. Focus on the details – which objects/buildings are you likely to notice on your way round the library? By doing this, you connect the cue of passing the library (and the surrounding objects) to the intention. When you later pass the library, it will automatically trigger the intention.
當你有一個打算時，盡可能生動地想象自己正在一個理想的環(huán)境下做那件事是非常有用的。例如，想象你自己路過圖書館，進入那幢樓，然后還書。關(guān)注細節(jié)——你在圖書館周邊可能注意到哪些物體/建筑？通過這樣做，你就將路過圖書館（以及周遭的物體）這個線索與還書這個目的聯(lián)系了起來。之后當你路過圖書館時，就會自動觸發(fā)這個目的。

If you are struggling to remember an important concept during your exam, you need to activate as many connected cues as possible. For instance, try visualizing yourself in the context of studying. Be as vivid as possible – imagine yourself with an open textbook, taking notes, sitting at your desk. Simply imagining the context of encoding can be helpful to generate enough activation to successfully retrieve the memory trace.
如果在考試期間難以回想起一個重要的概念，那么你需要激活盡可能多的相關(guān)線索。例如，試著想想自己正處于復(fù)習(xí)的環(huán)境下，盡可能生動——想象你面對著打開的課本，坐在書桌旁，正在記筆記。僅僅只是想象編碼的環(huán)境，就有助于產(chǎn)生足夠的激活來成功檢索到記憶痕跡。

Also, try to remember the details of the context in which you studied the particular concept you are struggling with (such as what page it was in the book, what other concepts you studied before and after this concept). Note that for successful retrieval it is important to activate the connected cues.
同樣，試著回憶你在學(xué)習(xí)這個一時想不起來的概念時所處環(huán)境的細節(jié)（例如在課本的哪一頁，在這個概念前后你還學(xué)習(xí)了哪些其他概念）。注意，要成功檢索記憶，激活相關(guān)聯(lián)的線索非常重要。

Since our memories work like snapshots (everything that is present during encoding is encoded together with the memory trace), these cues can either be relevant (such as related concepts) or even completely irrelevant (such as the time of day or even what you had for lunch around the time of study, etc.).
由于你的記憶就像快照一樣工作（編碼時出現(xiàn)的一切都和記憶痕跡一起被編碼），因此這些線索可以是相關(guān)的（例如有關(guān)聯(lián)的概念），甚至也可以是完全無關(guān)的（例如是什么時候?qū)W習(xí)的，甚至可以是當時午飯吃了什么等等）。

In summary, we recommend the following:
總結(jié)起來，我們推薦以下做法：

·To better remember to do something in a particular place and time in the future, visualize yourself vividly doing it (e.g. imagine yourself passing the library and returning the book)
·為了將來更好地記得在某個時間地點做某件事，可以生動地想象你自己正在做那件事（例如，想象你路過圖書館，并歸還圖書）。

–visualize the details of the context where you need to remember the intention (objects, buildings, people)
·想象你需要想起做這件事時的環(huán)境細節(jié)（物體、建筑、人）。

·If you cannot remember a particular concept that you studied during your exam:
·如果你在考試時無法想起學(xué)過的某個概念：

–Actively remember as many concepts as possible which are related to this concept
·盡可能多地積極回想與之相關(guān)的概念。

–Actively remember as many concepts as possible which you studied before and after this concept
·盡可能多地積極回想在其前后學(xué)習(xí)的概念。

–Visualize yourself in the context of studying (sitting at the desk in your room, etc.)
·想象自己在學(xué)習(xí)時所處的情境（坐在房間的書桌前等等）。

–Try to remember what time and where you studied the concept, what kind of mood you were in and what had happened on that day
·試著回想你是在什么時間、什么地點學(xué)習(xí)這個概念的，當時心情如何，那天發(fā)生了什么。

——節(jié)選自《記憶的科學(xué)》