How are maintenance rehearsals different from elaborative rehearsals?
Maintenance rehearsals are carried out through silent or vocal repetition. They simply maintain information in short-term memory (STM) for as long as required, and when such repetitions discontinue, the information is lost.
In contrast, elaborative rehearsals help information enter long-term memory. This type of rehearsal attempts to connect the 'to be retained information' to already existing information in long-term memory. It involves analyzing the information in terms of various associations it arouses and organizing the incoming information in as many ways as possible. One can expand the information in a logical framework, link it to similar memories, or create a mental image. The number of associations created around new information determines its permanence.
Explanation
The textbook clearly distinguishes between the two types of rehearsals. Maintenance rehearsals operate in STM through simple repetition, and information is lost when repetition stops. Elaborative rehearsals, however, involve deeper processing - connecting new information to existing knowledge in long-term memory through associations, logical frameworks, and mental images. This distinction is crucial for understanding how information gets transferred from short-term to long-term memory.