Depth of Processing: Why how you process information determines how much you'll remember later
加工深度：为什么如何加工信息决定了日后能记起多少

Scientists believe that one of the critical factors determining the success of encoding is the depth of processing. The deeper you process the to-be-learnt information, the more likely it is to stick. What exactly is ‘deep’ processing?
科学家认为，决定编码成功与否的一个重要因素是信息加工的深度。对学习的信息加工得越深入，它就越可能被持久地记住。那么到底什么是“深度”加工？

In essence, deep processing focuses on the meaning of the information.
深度加工本质上关注的是信息的含义。

Try this demonstration: Read the following list of words 3 times. After you have read the list, try to recall as many words as possible, minimizing your window or otherwise covering up the words on the screen:
试试这个例子：把下面这些单词读三遍，然后最小化窗口或在屏幕上挡住它们，试着回想起尽可能多的词：

cabbage, table, river, shirt, gun, square, iron, dentist, sparrow, mountain, hand, granite
圆白菜、桌子、河流、衬衫、枪、广场、铁、牙医、麻雀、山、手、花岗岩

How many words did you remember? Now try the same thing with another list:
你记住了多少个词？现在和上面一样，试着记下面这一组词：

pink, green, blue, purple, apple, cherry, lemon, plum, lion, zebra, cow, rabbit
粉色、绿色、蓝色、紫色、苹果、樱桃、柠檬、李子、狮子、斑马、牛、兔子

How many words did you remember? Try it once more with the following list:
你记住了多少个词？再试试下面这一组：

thread, pin, eye, sewing, sharp, point, prick, thimble, haystack, thorn, hurt, injection
线、别针、眼、缝、尖、点、扎、顶针、草堆、刺、疼、注射

How many words did you remember now? It is quite likely that you remembered most items from the second and third lists and the fewest items from the first list. As you may have noticed, the second list consists of items grouped into categories (color, fruit and animal), whereas the third list contains items which are related to the word ‘needle’. In contrast, the first list consists of completely unrelated items.
这回你记住了多少个词？很有可能你记住了第二组和第三组中的大部分词汇，而第一组的单词记住的最少。正如你可能已经注意到的，第二组中的词被分成了若干类别（颜色、水果和动物），而第三组的词都和“针”这个含义有关。相反，第一组中的单词则是各种完全无关的事物。

The reason why it was easier to memorize items from the latter two lists is that the items were meaningfully connected – they were subjectively (consciously or unconsciously) organized into a specific category or related to a common concept. Giving meaning to information is beneficial as it harnesses the process of spreading activation (which we'll cover in the section on “Spreading activation”).
后两组单词之所以更容易记住，是因为其中的事物具有有意义的关联——它们被主观地（无论是有意还是无意）归到一个特殊类别，或者都与一个共同概念相关。为信息赋予意义之所以有助于记忆，是因为它强化了激活扩散的过程（我们会在“激活扩散”一节讨论它）。

The main implication of this study is that structured information is much easier to encode to memory than disorganized information.
这个研究给我们的主要启示是：结构化的信息比无组织的信息更容易编码并记住。

Therefore, it is extremely useful to impose a good structure on your notes. The structure can take many different shapes – hierarchical, flow-based, mind-mapping or anything else that you find useful. What matters is that the particular technique helps you organize the study material in an easy, clear and understandable way. (we will cover these note-taking techniques in detail in a separate article on learning)
因此，按一种良好的结构组织笔记就十分有用。结构可以有许多不同的形式——层级结构、流结构、思维导图或其他任何你觉得有用的形式。重要的是，这个方法帮助你用一种轻松、明白、容易理解的方式组织学习材料。（我们会在另外一篇关于学习的文章中详细讨论这些笔记方法。）

Categorization and structuring are not the only ways that you can give meaning to information. A powerful technique that substantially improves memorization is self-explanation. Self-explanation simply consists of asking yourself questions about the study material as you study:
为信息赋予意义，并不只有分类和结构化的方法。一个能够明显提高记忆力的有力手段是自我解释。自我解释包括在学习时问自己有关学习材料的问题：

·How does this concept related to the other?
·这个概念与另一个概念有什么关系？

·What are the implications of this concept for…?
·这个概念对……有什么意义？

·Why does it make sense that…?
·为什么……有道理？

·What are the steps that I must take to solve this problem?
·要解决这个问题我必须采取哪些步骤？

A very effective way to make yourself process information deeply is to explain the study material in your own words. If you are to explain a concept using different words than those used by the textbook or the lecturer, you firstly have to process and understand its meaning and logical connections with other concepts, which effectively boosts encoding by stimulating deep processing. This stands in stark contrast with the situation where you simply re-read the textbook or lecture notes, which constitutes only superficial processing and does not lead to effective encoding.
深度加工信息一个非常有效的办法就是用自己的话解释学习材料。如果你要用与书本或老师不同的话来解释一个概念，首先必须消化并理解它的含义，并与其他概念建立逻辑联系，而这通过促进深度加工有效地推动了编码过程。这和只是简单地再读一遍课本非常不同，因为重读课本只涉及信息的浅层加工，而不会引向有效的编码。

When taking notes, make sure that you do not copy the words of your textbook and lecturer verbatim. Instead, try to use your own words as much as possible. Researchers have shown that typing notes on a computer encourages copying information verbatim (even if students are explicitly instructed to use their own words), unlike writing notes by hand. As a consequence, students who take notes on a computer underperform in tests compared to students using handwriting.
在记笔记时，要确保自己不是逐字逐句地照抄课本或老师的话，而是尽可能使用自己的语言。研究者已经证明，与手写笔记不同，在电脑上打字记笔记会鼓励逐字逐句照抄信息（即使学生已经被明确告知要用他们自己的语言）。结果就是，用电脑记笔记的学生在考试中表现不如手写记笔记的学生。

Our general recommendations are the following
我们一般推荐下面的做法：

·Take structured notes (whatever suits you best: hierarchical, flow-based, mind-maps, etc.)
·记结构化的笔记（层级式的、流结构的、思维导图等等，无论哪种最适合你）。

·Do not memorize lecturer's or textbook phrases, explain concepts to yourself in your own words
·不要死记硬背老师或课本上的原话，而是用自己的语言阐释概念。

·When taking notes, avoid copying information word-for-word. Use your own phrasing instead.
·在记笔记时，避免逐字逐句抄写信息，而是改用自己的话。

·Avoid taking notes on a computer. Take handwritten notes instead.
·避免用电脑记笔记，而是用纸笔。

——节选自《记忆的科学》