Context-sensitivity of human memory: Episode connectivity and its influence on memory reconstruction

Abstract

This paper is testing a DUAL-based model of memory. The model assumes decentralized representation of episodes as a coalition of agents and analogical transfer processes as the basis for memory reconstruction of our past. It is a model of active reconstruction thereby allowing memory insertions and blending of episodes. The experiment explores the role of the degree of internal connectivity of the coalition representing the episode on the outcome of the reconstruction process. It demonstrates that the more the links between the elements of the episode are, the higher the number of details we recall, and the lesser the intruded elements and the context influence. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.