If you can’t remember your PIN number, try closing your eyes.Experiments show that recall is boosted when we shut out the outside world. It is thought that blocking out distractions frees up the necessary brainpower to remember things. Psychologists from the University of Surrey put the theory to test by showing almost 200 men and women short films and asking them a series of questions about what they had seen.
The first film clip was silent and showed an electrician stealing as he carried out jobs in a house. The volunteers then answered a series of questions about what they had seen – and half of them did this with their eyes closed.
Those whose eyes were open got just 48 per cent of the answers right on average – a score much lower than the 71 per cent achieved by those who had shut their eyes.
Having built up a rapport with the questioner boosted scores further. The second film clip came from the BBC series Crimewatch and included sound as well as images. Closing eyes boosted recall of facts heard and seen.
It had been argued that the technique improves memory by allowing people to build a detailed mental image of the thing they are trying to recall. The finding that the trick also made it easier to remember auditory information shows this is not the only explanation. Researcher Robert Nash said it is likely that those who shut their eyes also benefit from blocking out distractions… see more
source: Dailymail UK
Tags: Closing eyes, Finding Things, Science, science and technology
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