Can different contexts affect memory recall?

Abstract

To address questions about the dependence of human memory on the contingent context in which events occur, the author review research on contingent context-dependent memory in humans. The relationship between the context in which an item is stored and retrieved has a significant impact on a person's ability to recognize the item. The theoretical approach to this problem stems from Bjork's (1978) experiments on the effects of environmental context on recall and recognition. If a person learns and remembers in the same contextual environment, then learning and memory are dependent on the environmental context in which these activities occur. This paper discusses each of the three mental processes of memory in relation to their stimulus context. For example, the impact of inference methods of retrieval on context-dependent memory methods, and the improvement in retrieval of information by encoding environmental information along with plot specific objects or contexts in the storage information session. Further, this paper explores the effects of contextual stimuli in real-life contexts, particularly in classroom and examination settings of environmental context.