Encoding Specificity Principle
What is the Encoding Specificity Principle?
The encoding specificity principle suggests that we are more likely to remember information when the context in which we recall it matches the context in which we first learned it. This means that when we form memories, our brains store information about our environments and internal states that can later serve as subtle reminders for those memories.
The Basic Idea
Imagine you’re on the way to the grocery store, going over every item you need to buy on your weekly shopping trip. You accidentally left your list at home, but it’s only a couple of essential things—you’ve got it all in your head, right? Shopping is easy and uneventful, as you mentally check off every item. But as soon as you step into your kitchen… oh no. You forgot the eggs. Without looking at the list itself or even opening up the fridge, you suddenly remember items you had completely forgotten about at the store. Why is it so much easier to recall certain memories in some places and not others?
The encoding specificity principle explains how contextual factors can facilitate remembering if they match to where the memory was originally formed.1,2 When incoming information is stored as a memory, a process called encoding, we take in details from the entire “scene,” including our environment and internal state. For example, if you’re going over your grocery list whilst in the kitchen, your memory of the list is linked to information about your surroundings. When you return to the kitchen after your shopping trip, being in the same place cues the previous memory, reminding you of the state you were in when you learned the list and helping you recall more items.
These retrieval cues don’t just have to be location-based; sounds, smells, emotions, and physical sensations can all affect memory retrieval in a similar way.3 For example, the sound of a kettle boiling or the smell of coffee might remind you of your grocery list. Aside from forgotten food items, the encoding specificity principle can be really helpful in jogging our memory and facilitating recall, like remembering to complete a task at lunchtime if our boss assigned it to us when we were hungry.
Retrieving memories often works like a game of word association: jumping from one detail to the next in a chain reaction of remembering. For instance, seeing the kitchen might trigger memories of being in that same space, which brings to mind writing a grocery list there, which then leads to recalling specific items on that list. The encoding specificity principle shows us that remembering isn’t just a matter of how well you learned something in the past—it’s also a matter of your current context and environment.
No memory is ever alone; it's at the end of a trail of memories, a dozen trails that each have their own associations.
—Louis L’amour, American novelist4
About the Author
Celine Huang
Celine Huang is a Summer Content Intern at The Decision Lab. She is passionate about science communication, information equity, and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding decision-making. Celine is a recent graduate of McGill University, holding a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Cognitive Science and Communications. Her undergraduate research examined the neurobiology of pediatric ADHD to improve access to ADHD diagnoses and treatments. She also sits on the North American Coordinating Committee of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), where she applies her behavioral science background to health equity advocacy. In her free time, Celine is an avid crocheter and concertgoer.
