A dynamic model of context-based retrieval

We propose a comprehensive model of how experiences are encoded and retrievedfrom memory. At the core of the model is a dynamic retrieval process incorporating twoessential mechanisms: iterative retrieval, whereby information is sequentially sampledfrom memory to access the full history of experiences; and competitive retrieval,whereby the most prominent features in memory inhibit the recollection of otherfeatures. Together with context-based encoding, the model quantitatively explains wellknownfacts about response order and inter-response times in recall experiments. Weshow that our retrieval process maps closely to existing decision frameworks, such asdrift-diffusion models, suggesting that the memory system plays a fundamental role ina wide-ranging set of decision-making settings.