Thread by @garwboy

Why do we readily remember someone's face, but regularly struggle to remember their name?

What makes names so hard to remember, when far less salient/important/useful stuff is often recalled so readily?

Because @GuitarmoogMusic asked, here's a #BrainStuff thread to explain

/1

https://twitter.com/GuitarmoogMusic/status/1443145467496386562

@GuitarmoogMusic A big part of why we often struggle to remember someone's name relates to a previous #BrainStuff thread; the v small capacity of the short term memory

https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/1440777936609570818

Basically, our brains can only take in a small amount of abstract info at once

/2

When you meet someone, they tell you their name. But very rarely is that the only information dispensed by the encounter. A conversation normally ensues, where a lot of basic personal info is exchanged. Their name is a small part of this.

/3

And because it's the first thing you hear, but is quickly followed by a lot more information, the name of the person you're talking to can be quickly pushed out of your short term memory, before your brain has the chance to cement it in

/4

Hence you can come away from meeting someone and remember how you know them, where they work, where they live etc, but not their sodding name! It may be the most useful bit, but it was the first thing you heard, so was the first thing to be ejected from the short term memory

/5

There's also the fact that names are very abstract. It's basically a short bit of sound, invariably one you've heard a lot before. So, your brain has less to work with when trying to form a memory about it. There's not much it can connect it to.

/6

This may not be the case with, for example, where someone lives. A location evokes navigational, geographical, cultural elements, and they're usually more unique, more distinct, than a name

/7

But one thing our brains DO remember very well is faces. Faces are a very rich source of information and communication, and they're usually very distinct and individual, are conveyed via vision (our primary sense). They give our brains way more to work with, and remember

/8

Indeed, faces are so important to us that we have parts of our brain dedicated to detecting and deciphering them

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusiform_…

This explains why we 'see' faces everywhere, even when they're not actually there (pareidolia)

bbc.com/future/article…

/9

So, it's no wonder that we remember someone's face a lot more easily than we do their name; the former just gives our brain a lot more to work with, and thus form a more distinct and enduring memory of them.

/10

Same goes for anything, really. A film or piece of music is going to stimulate a lot more of your brain than just hearing someone's name once. And if we like them, we'll remember them better again

/11

Human memory is strongly influenced and guided by emotion, so if we like and enjoy something, it'll make our brain's memory system tag it as 'important', and thus we remember it better. If we like it enough to experience it repeatedly, that reinforces this process

/12

This can help with names, too.

Someone from a different department you just met at a dull works party tell you their name? You'll struggle to remember it

Someone you find incredibly gorgeous comes up and tells you their name? It's immediately burned into your grey matter

/13

So there you go. It's hard to remember names because they provide nothing but brief, unstimulating, abstract information. To better remember them, you'd need to consciously repeat them until they 'bed in', or halt any other information coming in.

/14

Although, if someone tells you their name and you immediately tell them to stop talking while you recite their name, that person will think you're unhinged and avoid you from then on. Therefore, remembering their name is pointless.

/15

There's a whole section about this phenomenon in my book The Idiot Brain, which is still going strong. Check it out, make it go even stronger

amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Brain-Ne…

hive.co.uk/Product/Dean-B…

#Brainstuff #Neuro #SciComm

/end

Another #BrainStuff thread from earlier.

This one concerns the age old problem of people's names being surprisingly tricky to remember. If this has ever affected you, read on.

https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/1443218329326526475