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points out a danger of inaccuracy with regard to detail in the Gestalt principle). Weinland does not agree with the memory improvement authorities that anyone can be trained to have a good memory. Improvement is certainly possible, but the one invariable is the person's potential. This cannot be increased. He tells us that psychologists agree with William James that retentiveness, that is, capacity for remembering, cannot be improved by effort or training, because it is dependent on the brain structure. Within the limits of the potential, however, memory can be improved like any other skill. Among the common and useful memory devices that many people employ without outside instruction are numbering, classifying, and visualizing. Those who have not learned to use these devices by themselves can gain in efficiency by applying themselves in this way. Motivation is important too—not just in the sense of wanting to improve one's memory—but in the more particular sense of wanting to learn specific things for specific purposes. The more driving the need or desire, the more effective will be the memory. Interest is important, and explains the fact that memories, even remarkable memories—are usually especially good in only one area. People with amazing memories for things in general are probably interested in everything. Weinland concludes that a person's memory can be called poor only if he forgets many things that deeply interest him after making an effort to remember them. Sometimes forgetting is simply a matter of incomplete |
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