Making it Stick: Maximize the User’s Memory

(This post originally appeared on Hill Holliday Blog)

As humans, we are hardwired to retain and store information for quick and easy retrieval. Information needed for future retrieval is stored in long-term memory, whereas information you need to hold onto for a few minutes, or even a few hours is stored in working (short term) memory .

The downfall with this type of memory is its limited shelf life and capacity, as well as the negative impact stress can have on retention. George A. Miller found the optimal number for enhancing object memory retention is seven, plus or minus two. He also found chunking information into several dimensions enhanced retention.

Stress has also been caused to negatively impact retention. A study performed by Jameson and associates recorded a call line for firefighters, and reported callers were not able to recall their locations as they were reporting fires. In some cases, callers were not able to provide the general part of town the fire was coming from.

Recommended Web Guidelines to Enhance Memory Retention

Jakob Nielson’s Alertbox for the week of December 7th addresses the issue that our brains are not designed for the strenuous demands of certain websites, including abstract thinking and data memorization. One reason for this difficulty is the overload of mental resources. When information exceeds the cognitive load, learning and knowledge retention are compromised.

Nielsen recommends the following design guidelines for the limited capacity of the mind:

• Keep response times low so users don’t forget their task (time has also been shown to negatively impact working memory).
• Change color of visited links
• Make comparisons easy
• Create an easy experience of using discounts
• Offer contextual assistance

I would recommend going even further and use additional guidelines derived from work from Feinberg and Murphy on decreasing cognitive load:

• Incorporate both text and graphics as you instruct. Using both mediums has been proven to be more effective then just using either only text or only images (Split Attention Effect).
• Try to avoid redundant information. When viewed in relevance to cognitive load, redundancy and simultaneous representations of content can increase the demand on cognitive resources (Redundancy Effect).
• Multimedia can enhance retention. Research has proven more information can be retained when it was presented by both visual and auditory means. The designer needs to be mindful of the duration of the multimedia because if it is too long, it will tax working memory (Modality Effect).

Additionally, if you are designing a product that would be used in stressful circumstances, it is important to be mindful of how stress could affect retention. In that case, more automation may be necessary.

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