{"id":3830,"date":"2022-10-09T17:25:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T17:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtualbrainhealthcenter.com\/?p=3830"},"modified":"2022-10-09T17:25:02","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T17:25:02","slug":"remembering-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualbrainhealthcenter.com\/directory\/remembering-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Names: A Challenge for Your Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What do you believe?\u00a0<\/b>Prior to diving into this blog, please take a moment to consider the following statements and your belief about your ability to remember names.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cI am terrible with names.\u201d
-Or-
\u201cI have to work to remember someone\u2019s name, but I can do it!\u201d<\/p>

Which statement resonates with you? Take a brief moment to reflect.<\/p>

Do you have trouble remembering names?\u00a0<\/b>Chances are, you have met someone, only to forget their name within seconds or during a second meeting when you\u2019d like to address them by name. The ability to remember someone\u2019s name is a challenge to people of all ages across the world. It is not unique to adults of a specific age, gender, ethnicity or geographical location. As we age, our recall is slower and we tend to worry more about our memory.\u00a0(More about this in a future blog.)<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>

Why should we work to remember names?\u00a0<\/b>There are a wide variety of reasons that we work at remembering people\u2019s names. First, we recognize that it is a polite thing to do. Putting the effort into remembering someone\u2019s name and then addressing them by their name can make them feel important. I suspect many of us have been surprised when someone remembered our name and made a point to say hello or greet us. We likely felt important. When we create a social connection with others using their name, we set the stage for a positive interaction. `<\/p>

Why do we have trouble remembering names?\u00a0<\/b>When we meet someone new, there are likely many things going on at the same time\u2026 a fast-moving conversation, noises in the background, a stimulating environment and more. Many times, we do not pay enough attention to remember someone\u2019s name.<\/p>

Attention is the first step to memory and our brains are not able to remember things we do not pay attention to in the first place. Names are tough because they lack clues and context that can help us \u201cremember\u201d better.\u00a0<\/p>

When someone introduces herself\/himself to you, you probably reply with your name. And the conversation continues. The natural flow of conversation does not allow our brain the minimum 8-12 seconds needed to properly focus on the name to get it into our short-term memory.\u00a0<\/p>

Slowly count to 10. Now, try to imagine a 10-second pause in conversation to focus on the name you just heard so that you can set your memory processing up for success. Unfortunately, our average social exchanges do not account for how our brain prefers to process information (like names) and we use a variety of strategies to remember names.\u00a0<\/p>

Why do we remember more faces than names?\u00a0<\/b>Numerous studies have found that our human brain has an uncanny ability to recognize faces with high accuracy (90%+). In studies, most adults are flashed anywhere from 200-300 faces (at a rate of one face per second). Then they are flashed additional faces and asked to identify if they recognize the person from before (the set of faces they were just shown). Oddly enough, adults and older adults perform well on this task and we have the ability to quickly recognize if someone is familiar or not.\u00a0<\/p>

How many faces can we remember?\u00a0<\/b>Think about the number of faces that you could likely identify. Consider faces of people across various aspects of your life. Think about grade school, high school, neighbors, hometown, work, church, volunteer, family, friends, friends of friends, celebrities and more. How many faces do you actually know? (Their face is familiar but you might not know their name.) And off with your guesstimate!<\/p>

A recent\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0found that on average we recognize 5,000 faces but individual differences occur (1,000 \u2013 10,000 faces). Prosopagnosia is a rare condition that results in an inability to see faces and recognize faces of familiar people, also referred to as \u201cfacial blindness.\u201d Beyond faces, this neurological disorder impacts the individual\u2019s ability to recognize facial expressions, judge age, follow another\u2019s gaze, and more, like recognizing themselves in a mirror.<\/p>

Names and the Brain.\u00a0<\/b>The fusiform gyrus is an area in the brain that supports our ability to recognize faces (facial perception and memory); thus, making it easier to recognize someone than recall his\/her name! Other areas of the brain can be involved when remembering names, too. The amygdala is the area of our brain commonly associated with emotion and our hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with memory. When we make an emotional connection with people during conversations this can boost our likelihood of recalling their name.\u00a0<\/p>

Strategies to Remember Names.\u00a0<\/b>Social conversations can help us put names into context or a context that is familiar to us.\u00a0<\/p>

  1. Meet and repeat, repeat, repeat.<\/i> Repetition allows us an opportunity to practice the person\u2019s name which can increase the likelihood to remember it. A rule of thumb is to repeat their name 3-5 times within the conversation as appropriate.\u00a0<\/li><\/ol>

    Quick Script: Let\u2019s Meet Chris.<\/p>