Power of association
The power of association is one of the important foundations of GAMT. Associating a given topic with a GAMT helps to significantly leverage the power of association in recalling facts.
Associative network theory is a fundamental concept in cognitive psychology that describes how information is stored and retrieved in the brain. According to this theory, our memories are organized in a network of interconnected nodes, where each node represents a piece of information. The connections between nodes represent associations, making it easier to retrieve related information. This theory helps explain how we can recall related facts and why some memories are triggered by specific cues.
When one node is activated (e.g., by seeing a word or image), the activation spreads to connected nodes, making it easier to recall related information.
For example, if you think of the word “apple,” it might activate nodes related to “fruit,” “red,” “sweet,” or even “pie.” This interconnected structure allows for efficient information retrieval and explains phenomena like priming, where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus.
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There are lots of studies to support this concept. Collins and Quillian (1979) demonstrated that retrieval time for verifying statements about category membership depends on the hierarchical distance between nodes, supporting the concept of a structured semantic network in memory .Anderson and Bower’s (1973) human associative memory model highlighted that associative links between nodes facilitate quicker and more accurate recall, emphasizing the role of spreading activation in memory retrieval . Collins and Loftus (1975) proposed a flexible semantic network model where the strength of associative links influences recall speed and accuracy, explaining phenomena like semantic priming .
Semantic priming is a phenomenon in cognitive psychology where the exposure to one word or concept (the prime) facilitates the retrieval or recognition of another related word or concept (the target). When you encounter a word like “bread,” related concepts such as “butter,” “jam,” and “sandwich” become more accessible because they are linked within your semantic network. This linkage means that when the prime (“bread”) is presented, the related target words are processed more quickly and accurately than unrelated words. Meyer and Schvaneveldt’s experiments on semantic priming showed that related words are recognized more quickly, demonstrating that activation spreads through associative networks, enhancing the accessibility of related concepts .
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How does this relate to GAMT? In GAMT what we do is to link an image that you already have in your memory to facts relating to a specific topic. All the images that we use in GAMT are common images which will allow effortless recall. For example an image car is so clear I I your mind that chassis, wheels, steering wheel etc automatically pop in to your mind without even thinking. GAMT allows us to use our existing immense capacity to recall images and links the with new facts.
