Context-dependent memory
In psychology, context-dependent memory is the improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.
[2] Research has also shown that context-dependence may play an important role in numerous situations, such as memory for studied material, or events that have occurred following the consumption of alcohol or other drugs.
Such non-significant results encouraged the development of new methods, such as a retroactive interference paradigm, to analyze the effect of context on memory.
As early as 1971, Jensen et al. found evidence that contradicted previous findings by demonstrating a context-dependent effect on memory for nonsense syllables.
[7] In a similar timeframe, Endel Tulving and Donald Thompson proposed their highly influential 'encoding specificity principle', which provided the first framework for understanding how contextual information affects memory and recall.
[8] In 1975, the question of whether contextual information influences memory recall was famously investigated with the publication of Godden and Baddeley's paper detailing the well-known 'diving study'.
[9] A few years prior to the publication of this study, researchers demonstrated that the memory of deep sea divers for events witnessed underwater was reduced after resurfacing.
[10] The authors note in their 1975 paper that this incidental result immediately suggested a possible influence of the contextual environment (being underwater) on recall.
[9] To test this hypothesis, Godden and Baddeley had divers learn and recall word lists in two separate environments; under water and on dry land.
In simplified form: changing the context between encoding and retrieval reduced the divers' ability to recall learned words.
[18] Kalisch et al. provide further support for this role by demonstrating that context-dependent extinction memory is correlated with activation in both the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
[19] Similarly, an experiment by Wagner et al. using fMRI demonstrated that activation of the right prefrontal cortex depended on contextual information.
[20] The authors of this study suggest that differential activation of the prefrontal cortex occurs because the different contexts require unique attempt processes for retrieval.
Overall, the patterns of activation in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex following changes in contextual information suggest that these brain regions play an important role in context-dependent memory.
Baddeley's earlier research had indicated that the cold environment underwater could create a strong context dependency in deep sea divers.
[2] They conducted an experiment where divers were placed under water or on the beach and listened to a prerecorded list of 36 unrelated, two-and-three syllable words.
[2] This correlation may help to explain the "flood" of memories an individual experiences after returning to a previous residence or school following a long period of absence.
For instance, a long duration of residence in a particular location is likely to increase the amount of environmental contextual information that is encoded to memory.
[21] Importantly, due to the trauma associated with some of their experiences, recall of these past memories of war has been reported to lead many veterans to seek mental health care following exposure to this contextual information.
Additionally, Marian and Fausey found an effect of language on recall of semantic information in studies of Spanish-English bilinguals.
[34] In particular, they show that accuracy and reaction times are improved for recall of academic information when the language of encoding and retrieval are similar.
Another study by Woike et al. provides a more direct examination of context-dependence by testing the effect of motivational contextual cues on recall of specific word pairs.
Hence, the mood-congruence memory effect refers to better recall for information contained in experiences that match an individual's current emotional state.
[40] There also seems to be a higher occurrence of mood-congruent memory in females, possibly due to a purportedly greater amount of mood awareness.
[43] It has also been found that events that originate through internal mental operations—such as reasoning, imagination, and thought—are more connected to one's current mood than are those that emanate from external sources.
This phenomenon, which occurs when a memory or emotion is reactivated by a song that is associated to a specific event, demonstrates the effectiveness of sound (and odour) as useful cues in the absence of the original context.
[50] Using transferable cues may be useful for individuals who have difficulty using the context recall technique because they have trouble creating a mental image of the original environment.
As a treatment, a therapist may choose to expose the person to snakes in the absence of any traumatic event, leading to extinction of maladaptive behaviours related to fear.
Grant et al. conclude that students should take into consideration the context of testing, such as the noise level, while studying, in order to maximize their performance on both recall and recognition tasks.
By doing so, individuals are better able to create a mental image of the original context when trying to recall information in the new testing context—allowing for improved memory retrieval.
