Associations are mental interrelationships that occur naturally in human consciousness.
There are three levels of associations:
1)instantaneous images upon contact with an object or phenomenon. Simply put, reflexive. This level contains associations to which a person reacts unconsciously, quickly, according to his life experience.
2)represent logical connections between objects or phenomena found after some thought activity based on the knowledge and experience of a person.
3)links between events, objects, phenomena and facts, unconsciously grasped by a person. The image may have an extremely conditional relation to the object it symbolizes, or not have it at all. The main connection occurs at the emotional level.
Associative thinking is built, first of all, on our creative abilities, namely, on the ability to create something new using what already exists. The development of associative thinking is closely connected with imagination and the ability to find similar elements even in the most different things, as well as with the training of figurative memory.
Some professions where associative thinking is necessary are: artists, writers, musicians, directors, actors.
Benefits of associative thinking: 1) stimulating brain function; 2) developing imagination; 3) facilitating the perception of new information; 4) improving the memorization process; 5) forming new meaningful connections; 6) adapting to non-standard situations; 7) improving random attention; 8) generating new ideas; 9) increasing the productivity of cognitive processes; 10) developing creative abilities.
In order to better remember the necessary information and keep it in memory longer, it is necessary to find vivid memorable associations. Creating associations is a creative process, but there is nothing complicated about it.
If you apply these rules, your associations will be stored in your memory for as long as possible:
1) The association should be interesting and emotional (funny, touching, fascinating plot, etc.)
2) The association should be unusual (fantastic, absurd).
3) The association should be as detailed as possible.
4) We perceive the event with all of our senses. We remember the event in the picture, we remember its smell, its taste, we remember the dynamics of the visual representation of the event and we even feel it in the body. The more you allow all of your senses to be involved in recall and association – the more connected images you can retrieve from memory.