Efficacy and limits of method of loci in the vocabulary memory of military medical students
WANG Panhui
LIU Na
YE Shengdong
SUN Kewei
WANG Ziwei
XIAO Wei
WU Di
Abstract：Objective To examine the effectiveness and transfer effects of the method of loci(MOL)among military medical students,so as to offer an empirical basis for its practical application in this specific educational context.Methods Forty-six military medical students were recruited from a military medical university and randomly assigned to either the MOL group(n=25)or the control group(n=21).Both groups completed a pre-test,two vocabulary memory training sessions,and a post-test.The MOL group received instruction and practice in the use of the technique,while the control group did not.Differences in the pre-and post-test performance between the two groups were compared across vocabulary memory tasks and a set of transfer tasks,including Raven's Progressive Matrices,spatial n-back,a visual working memory test,and a mental rotation task.Results The MOL group showed significant improvements in vocabulary recognition and recall scores(P＜0.001).However,no significant transfer effects were observed on any of the four transfer tasks(P＞0.05).Conclusion MOL can effectively enhance the vocabulary memory performance in military medical students,but its benefits do not appear to be transferred to other cognitive tasks related to memory or spatial ability.
Keywords：method of locitransfer effectvocabulary memorymemory strategy trainingmilitary medical studentsRaven's Progressive Matricesspatial n-backvisual working memorymental rotation
Publication Date：2026-03-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 327-333 )