Social Cognition 2.0: An Interactive Memory Systems Account
Open accessAbstract
For 40 years, research on impression formation and attitudes has relied on dual-process theories that represent knowledge in a single associative network. Although such models explain priming effects and some implicit responses, they are generally silent on other forms of learning and on the interface of social cognition with perception and action. Meanwhile, advances in cognitive neuroscience reveal multiple, interacting forms of learning and memory (e.g., semantic associative memory, Pavlovian conditioning, and instrumental learning), with detailed models of their operations, neural bases, and connections with perceptual and behavioral systems. This memory systems perspective offers a more refined, neurally plausible model of social cognition and attitudes that, I argue, provides a useful and generative account of human social behavior.
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In realistic interactions, appropriate responses often depend on implicit constraints such as user state, goals, or values that are not explicitly queried later.
“appropriate responses often depend on implicit constraints such as user state, goals, or values that are not explicitly queried later”
From Locomo-Plus: Beyond-Factual Cognitive Memory Evaluation Framework for LLM Agents (2026) · cites this paper as Amodio, 2019
In realistic interactions, appropriate responses often depend on implicit constraints such as user state, goals, or values that are not explicitly queried later.
“In realistic interactions, appropriate responses often depend on implicit constraints such as user state, goals, or values that are not explicitly queried later.”
From LoCoMo-Plus: Beyond-Factual Cognitive Memory Evaluation Framework for LLM Agents (2026) · cites this paper as Amodio, 2019
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A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures
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Lindström, B., Bellander, M., Schultner, D. T., Chang, A., Tobler, P. N., & Amodio, D. M. (2021) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19607-x · Cited by 185 · see citing works
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LoCoMo-Plus: Beyond-Factual Cognitive Memory Evaluation Framework for LLM Agents
Li, Y., Guo, W., Zhang, L., Xu, R., Huang, M., Liu, H., Xu, L., Xu, Y., & Liu, J. (2026) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.10715
“( Zheng et al., 2025) Information is frequently conveyed implicitly, and later responses depend on inferred goals or constraints, a view consistent with findings from cognitive science and neuroscience (Amodio, 2019; Hoskins, 2024).”
Locomo-Plus: Beyond-Factual Cognitive Memory Evaluation Framework for LLM Agents
Li, Y., Guo, W., Zhang, L., Xu, R., Huang, M., Liu, H., Xu, L., Xu, Y., & Liu, J. (2026) · Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (Volume 1: Long Papers) · doi:10.18653/v1/2026.acl-long.1150
- Authors
- Amodio, D. M.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Amodio, David M.
- ORCID
- Amodio, David M.
- Venue
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-01
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 21-33
- ISSN
- 1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2901419247
- Cited by
- 145
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 5.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- US National Science Foundation (BCS 1551826)
- Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (VICI 016.185.058)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- social cognition, memory systems, dual-process theory, impression formation, attitudes, associative memory, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, implicit learning
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Attitude, Brain, Humans, Memory, Models, Psychological, Psychological Theory, Social Behavior
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