Abstract
We tested whether imagining another context during encoding would offset context-dependent forgetting. All participants studied a list of words in Context A. Participants who remained in Context A during the test recalled more than participants who were tested in another context (Context B), demonstrating the standard context-dependent forgetting effect (e.g., Smith & Vela, 2001). Importantly, some participants imagined another mental context during encoding. Some of these participants imagined Context B during encoding, and when they were later tested in Context B or even in a completely new Context C, they did not show forgetting, confirming our predictions. Other participants imagined a new context during encoding simply by transforming the current context (i.e., by imagining that it was snowing in the room), and this likewise counteracted context-dependent forgetting. These data suggest a moderator of contextdependent forgetting. When the context surrounding a memory is largely mentally generated, contextdependent forgetting is eliminated.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1772-1777 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Environmental effects
- Forgetting
- Memory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language