What term refers to the process of combining items into groups to enhance memory retention?

The term that refers to the process of combining items into groups to enhance memory retention is chunking. Chunking is a cognitive strategy used in memory enhancement that involves organizing information into manageable units or "chunks.” This technique helps to alleviate the cognitive load on memory, allowing individuals to remember larger amounts of information more easily.

For example, when trying to remember a long string of numbers, such as 149217761941, one might chunk the numbers into manageable groups (e.g., 1492, 1776, 1941) to enhance recall. This method relies on the brain's ability to hold a limited number of items in short-term memory; by grouping related information, it effectively increases the amount of information that can be retained.

In contrast, clustering refers to organizing items into similar categories, which can also aid memory but is slightly different from chunking. Encoding is the initial process of transforming sensory input into a form that can be stored in memory, while mental mapping is a visual representation of information but does not specifically refer to the grouping of items for memory enhancement. Therefore, chunking is specifically focused on creating manageable units that facilitate better retention and recall.