11 April, 2017

Why we find it hard to remember names

Most people can't remember names even though names are great for building relationships. What makes people's names hard to recall? It's all down to the way human memory is wired, say University of Florida psychological scientists Lise Abrams and Danielle K. Davis.

Names are "meaningless labels" that reveal little about the person to whom they refer. A person named Brown may not be brown; "if you meet someone named Baker it's easier to remember that he works at a bakery than it is to remember his name." In some cases, the unique sound components of names make them harder to remember. To recall a name, you need to recall all of the sound combinations. "Because names possess more sounds by virtue of having multiple components, there are more sounds that need to be retrieved."

Sometimes, names confuse because they refer to people who have similar attributes.The Moses Illusion is an example. Most people will answer "two" when asked, "How many animals did Moses take on the ark?" But it was Noah, not Moses, who sailed the ark. People mix them up because they are male biblical figures associated with miracles. Recalling names gets tougher when similar sounds are involved, such as with Lyndon Johnson and Andrew Johnson - both former US presidents.

Then there's the visual overlap problem--it's easy to mix up people who look similar. In an experiment, participants were asked to choose the name of the actress who plays a ballet dancer who slowly loses her mind. The correct answer is Natalie Portman but many chose Keira Knightley, who resembles Portman.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

11.04.2017

Good people bring out the good in people