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At a Glance
Context-dependentmemoryrefers to improved recall when the context during encoding is the same as the context during retrieval. For example, when an event is stored in one’s memory, contextual information surrounding the event is also stored. Therefore, returning to or recreating that context can help trigger the memory of the event.
In this article, we’ll cover how context-dependent memory works and look at some examples.
How to Improve Memory Based on Research
Examples of Context-Dependent Memory
The idea of “retracing your steps” to help you locate a lost item takes advantage of context-dependent memory. By returning to the right context, you’re helping your brain better recall the last known location of your keys—the likely place that you’ll find them.
If they know a test will be in a specific classroom or lecture hall, they might find that studying their materials in that location in the weeks leading up to the test will help boost their brain’s ability to recall the information they’re learning when they’re taking their exam.
Types of Context-Dependent Memory
The environment around you (external context) or your inner state, like your mood or motivation (inner context), can both be cues for context-dependent memory.
Environmental Context
Experiments on the effects ofenvironmental contextdate back to at least the 1920s. Much of the work has focused on physical settings, but environmental context can also refer to other environmental features, such as background noise and smell.
Reinstatement Effect
In one influential experiment about the effects of new environmental contexts on memory, divers were asked to learn a list of words either when they were underwater or on dry land.
When the divers were asked to recall the words they learned, they remembered them best in the environment in which they learned them. So, those who learned the words underwater better recalled them underwater than they did on dry land. This showed that physical context could affect recall.
Other research has found that it’s not necessary to physically reinstate theenvironmentfor memory to benefit from context cues. Simply imagining the original context can be just as effective for recall as returning to it physically.
For example, research has shown that the effect can be achieved using virtual reality (VR) to “see” a location without actually visiting it. VR headsets can even create immersive learning environments that a user has never been to—like the planet Mars.
Other Theories
Studies on the effects of environmental context have had variable results. Some researchers have found that environmental context-dependent memory’s effects werereliablebut less likely when the environment was suppressed.
Two explanations have been offered for the suppression of environmental context: the overshadowing hypothesis and the outshining hypothesis.
Types of Memory and their Functions
State-Dependent Learning
State-dependent learning means that people can more easily recall information if they are in the same physical or emotional state they were in when they learned the information.
Many studies have looked at this phenomenon in people in intoxicated states.For example, a study in the 1970s had participants learn a list of words while smokingmarijuanaor a placebo.
Participants were asked to recall the words in the same or opposite state. Those who learned the words while intoxicated remembered them more if they were intoxicated when they were asked to recall them. However, the level of recall was still best for those who were not intoxicated when they initially studied the words.
Other researchers have studied the effects of different substances, like morphine and alcohol, on state-dependent memory and gotten varying results depending on the drug used.
Like research on environmental context, studies on state-dependent memories have not consistently shown strong results. Therefore, some researchers think that state-dependent memory is untrustworthy.
However, experts who have done extensive research on state-dependent memory argue that studies showing weak or negative results failed to remove other memory cues from the study environment, making it impossible to accurately determine which cues affect recall.
Mood-Dependence and Mood-Congruence
Mood is another context that can affect memory, either dependence or congruence.
Mood-Dependence
Inmood-dependent memory, mood is the same in memory encoding and recall.
For example, one study showed that people were better able to recall autobiographical memories of events two to three days after they originally generated them if they were in the same mood at both times.However, the key to finding mood-dependent effects is that the moods at encoding and recall must be authentic. Simulated moods will not demonstrate mood-dependent memory recall.
Mood-Congruence
Inmood-congruent memory,people are more likely to recall memories when they are in the same mood as the memory itself. This is a product of the content of the memory rather than the mood of the person during encoding. So, happy people are more likely to recall happy memories, and sad people are more likely to recall sad memories.
For example, one study had subjects learn personality trait words in a neutral mood, and then a happy or depressed mood was induced.
What’s the Difference Between Implicit and Explicit Memory?
Cognitive Context
Cognitivestate can also affect memory recall. Most studies have looked at this phenomenon in the context of language and motivation. However, some research has shown that people who speak multiple languages remember information best when recall happens in the language in which the information was encoded.
For example, studies have found that people who spoke both Russian and English recalled more autobiographical memories from the Russian-speaking period of their lives if they were interviewed and provided with word prompts in Russian. The same outcome was seen when doing the same test in English.
Research has also shown that matchingmotivational statesat encoding and recall can affect memory. In one study, word pairs were better remembered if they were associated with achievement cues when they were learned.
Using Context to Improve Recall
Context can have a powerful effect on our memories. While other factors influence our recall of information as well, context can be used to help us remember. The key is to match the context in which information will be recalled to the context in which it is learned.
Matching environmental contexts is the best way to use context-dependent memories to our advantage since it can be more difficult to control things like your mood or motivational state.
However, if other cues pull your attention away from the encoding context, matching context at encoding and recall ultimately may not improve your memory. To ensure that you can rely on context-specific memory, make sure the context you choose, whether it involves physical space, sound, smell, taste, or something else, will not be disrupted.
Take a Deeper Look Into Human Memory
17 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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