Memory aid: Virtual Reality may soon help you cram for a test
Published in the journal Virtual Reality, the results show that "immersion aids," which permit better spatial awareness than desktop screens, draw on the power of spatial mnemonics to aid memory.
"This data is exciting in that it suggests that immersive environments could offer new pathways for improved outcomes in education and high-proficiency training," Amitabh Varshney, professor of computer science at UMD, said in a university blog.
The researchers administered memory tests to study participants using a classical memory technique called a memory palace, which will be familiar to readers of Moonwalking with Einstein.
As Catherine Plaisant, a senior research scientist and coauthor on the paper, points out, many cognitive psychologists believe we have an embodied mind that fundamentally relies on our perceptions of and interactions with the physical world to form mental structures and process information.
"This leads to the possibility that a spatial virtual memory palace -- experienced in an immersive virtual environment -- could enhance learning and recall by leveraging a person's overall sense of body position, movement, and acceleration," Plaisant explains.
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