Visual Disruptions as Mnemonic Devices: Investigating the Efficacy of Environmental Anomalies in Memory Retrieval

Abstract

Remembering information and experiences is what enables us to solve new problems that confront us in the future.The current study examines how visual disturbance or visual anomalies are effective in enhancing memory and helping to recall tasks that participants need to remember. Thus it aims to explore the effectiveness of visual anomalies in improving memory recall compared to traditional methods. The study relied on mixed method approach through a quantitative and qualitative data procedure. Twenty volunteers who did not suffer from psychological or mental disorders, aged from forty to fifty years, participated in this study. They were distributed into two groups, control and experimental.  The control group relied on traditional ways to remember the tasks, while the experimental group used confusion and unusual visual anomalies as a means of remembering.  The researcher tested the participant's ability to remember at intervals of 24, 48, and 72 hours and after a week.  The results revealed the superiority of the experimental group over the control group in remembering the tasks assigned to them. In addition, the findings stress the effectiveness of using visual interference to enhance memory and remember things and that the visual disturbance is an effective signal to stimulate memory, especially if these interferences are distinctive and far from the usual, as they help attract the participant’s attention.  Thus, this strategy is more effective than traditional methods, and the more distinct the visual noise is, the better and faster its effectiveness in enhancing memory. The research results indicate that adding this strategy to participants’ daily activities may be an effective and useful way to enhance memory. The Visual Disruption Mnemonics (VDM) framework encapsulates the core principles derived from the findings, offering a robust framework for understanding and applying this novel mnemonic strategy in various contexts.