About Elaboration

Elaboration and Semantic Encoding

Elaboration improves the semantic encoding process, allowing a person to remember for a longer period of time. The process of elaboration and new stimuli is related in that it permits an individual to connect new stimuli to existing information. Elaboration is the process by which new stimuli/information are linked to previously stored knowledge in an individual’s memory. The link between new information and previous experiences assists individuals to understand and commit to memory, making long-term remembrance more effective. By providing greater detail, elaboration improves memory and allows an individual to deeply integrate new information/stimuli.

Deep Level of Processing in Elaboration

The individual thinks about the most recent information, organizes it, and compares it to new information, resulting in a deep level of processing in elaboration. The deep level of processing in elaboration is because the individual thinks about the latest information, organizes and relates it to new information. An example of how elaboration is related to processing new stimuli is when students are asked to learn a new word and use it in a sentence. The student has to first develop an understanding of the new word/stimuli before correctly using it in a sentence. The more in-depth processing of the meaning of the word and its inclusion in a sentence improves one’s memory of the meaning of the new word, and its use in a sentence demonstrates deeper processing.

Components of Elaboration

Elaboration entails questioning the new information, thinking about connotations, relating the new information to what is already known, generating new examples of the concept from experience, and understanding and questioning the evidence. The deeper processing involved in elaboration creates the detailed understanding of the concept and promotes recall. The deeper level of thinking involved in elaboration increases brain activity in the frontal lobes, which is involved in decision-making, problem-solving, planning, and thinking. Intellectual and cognitive skills are located in the frontal lobes of the brain hence are activated during elaboration.