OCR General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Biology Practice Exam

What concept explains breaking down information to aid memory storage?

1. Chunking

2. Clustering

3. Encoding

4. Recalling

The correct answer is: Chunking

The concept that explains breaking down information to aid memory storage is chunking. Chunking involves organizing information into manageable units or “chunks,” which makes it easier for the brain to process and remember. This strategy takes advantage of the memory's limited capacity by grouping related items into larger, more meaningful units, enabling individuals to retain a larger amount of information with less cognitive load. For example, when trying to remember a long string of numbers like 149217761941, chunking allows you to break it down into smaller parts like 1492, 1776, and 1941, which are historically significant years. This method enhances recall ability because our memory system can handle a few chunks more effectively than a long sequence of individual pieces of information. While clustering refers to grouping items in a related set, encoding is the process of transforming sensory input into a format that can be stored in memory. Recalling, on the other hand, is retrieving stored information when needed. Chunking specifically addresses the strategy of organizing information to facilitate storage and retrieval.