Cited by 382Memory Processes and InfluencesCognitive Functions and MemoryMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Event boundaries in perception affect memory encoding and updating

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Swallow, Khena M., Zacks, Jeffrey M., Abrams, Richard A.·2009·Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

Abstract

Memory for naturalistic events over short delays is important for visual scene processing, reading comprehension, and social interaction. The research presented here examined relations between how an ongoing activity is perceptually segmented into events and how those events are remembered a few seconds later. In several studies, participants watched movie clips that presented objects in the context of goal-directed activities. Five seconds after an object was presented, the clip paused for a recognition test. Performance on the recognition test depended on the occurrence of perceptual event boundaries. Objects that were present when an event boundary occurred were better recognized than other objects, suggesting that event boundaries structure the contents of memory. This effect was strongest when an object's type was tested but was also observed for objects' perceptual features. Memory also depended on whether an event boundary occurred between presentation and test; this variable produced complex interactive effects that suggested that the contents of memory are updated at event boundaries. These data indicate that perceptual event boundaries have immediate consequences for what, when, and how easily information can be remembered.

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  • Event boundaries sharply disrupt memory, so that information across a boundary is harder to access even when elapsed time is controlled.

    “Event boundaries can exert a sharp disruptive effect on memory, such that accessing information across a boundary is impaired even when controlling for the time elapsed [27–29].”

    From Does mental context drift or shift? (2017) · cites this paper as [27]

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Authors
Swallow, K. M., Zacks, J. M., & Abrams, R. A.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Venue
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Published
2009-05
Volume
138
Issue
2
Pages
236-257
ISSN
  • 0096-3445 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-2222
OpenAlex
W2072010508
Cited by
382
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 16
FWCI
5.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Experimental Psychology General (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (RO1 MH070674)
  • Dean Dissertation Research Fellowship
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
memory encoding, memory updating, event segmentation, recognition memory, short-term memory, visual scene processing, goal-directed activity, object recognition, perceptual features
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Attention, Discrimination, Psychological, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Motion Perception, Orientation, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Time Perception, Recognition, Psychology, Young Adult

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