Material Appropriate Processing (MAP)

Material Appropriate Processing (MAP) framework is a memory theory proposed by McDaniel, Einstein, Dunay, and Cobb in 1986. It suggests that individuals have high rates of memory recall when they use both relational and individual item information to encode information into memory.

Relational processing is using elaboration as a means to retain information. The MAP framework proposes that relational processing is effective for long term retention because it uses similarity and connections from already known information to learn new information.

An example of this might be the fact that when a person is receiving hand-on experience of a field or process with which they already have a familiarity it is easy to incorporate new information into their personal body of knowledge.