Research says you forget names because you don’t care that much

“For the life of me, I can’t remember [so-and-so’s] name!”

If that happens to you more often than you’d like, a researcher from Kansas State University says that you’re probably not interested enough to remember that person’s name.

Richard Harris is a professor of psychology and he has determined that people who have a vital interest in remembering names (politicians, teachers,) or people who enjoy being social and meeting new people remember names.

Those that don’t remember names, well, they just don’t have an interest.

The key to a good memory is your level of interest, he said. The more interest you show in a topic, the more you’ll remember. If you like chemistry, it’s easier to remember the periodic table. If you’re a pre-teen reading Tiger Beat, you’ll probably remember everything they’ve written about Justin Bieber.

This didn’t stop someone in our newsroom from exclaiming that they had a hard time remembering names and they were interested in names.

She chalked up her forgetfulness to the nervousness during pressure-filled social situations.

Whether you have a hard time or not remembering names, you can take two tips on meeting and remember people from the television show Parks and Recreation.

You might want to “not remember” someone’s name intentionally, because you want to prove your disinterest.

Or, if you need help remembering people’s names, you should slow down and repeat their name back to them when they first say it.