Implicitly activated memories are associated to general context cues

Words having more densely entangled associative structures are more likely to be recalled in the presence of related extralist cues. A context-modified PIER2 model predicts that the implicit activation of such structures during study connects them to the context of the learning episode. In two experiments, we evaluated this assumption by varying the associative density of the study words and the accessibility of context information. In Experiment 1, we varied context accessibility by manipulating context awareness and by delaying testing and filling the delay with different types of interfering tasks. In Experiment 2, we varied accessibility by manipulating test delay and type of interference in a factorial design. The effects of associative density were reduced by using implicit testing that never refers to context, by performing interpolated interference tasks, and finally, by extending the length of the delay. Information that is implicitly activated during an episodic experience is associated to the context of that experience.