Glossary
State-Dependent Memory
What is state-dependent memory?
State-dependent memory describes differences in retrieval depending on whether your internal state matches the state present during learning. A match can matter without being necessary for every successful memory.
What the evidence shows
Eich examined inconsistent findings from studies of drug-induced states. Effects were more often observed when explicit retrieval cues were absent. The memory test, as well as the state, mattered.
State-dependent memory example
In a study, researchers could compare recall after learning and testing in the same experimentally induced internal state with recall after learning in that state but testing in a different one. Better recall in the matching condition would illustrate state-dependent retrieval. It would not show that the induced state improves learning overall.
Related ideas
State dependence concerns a match between learning and recall. Mood-congruent memory concerns content that fits your current mood. External context effects concern the physical or situational environment.
These can overlap in a study, but they ask different questions. A result from one state manipulation does not establish the same effect for every mood, stress level, or exam.