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Mind & biases2 MINBrief fileEstablished evidence

Encoding Specificity

The memory may not be gone; today's key may simply differ from the one that stored it.

01 / SUMMARY

In short

A retrieval cue works best when it matches information present as the memory was formed. Accessibility depends on the relationship between encoding and retrieval, not only on isolated memory “strength.”

03 / SCENE

In the wild

A word studied in the pair “apple–fruit” may be retrieved better with “fruit” than with a new cue that seems more obvious.

04 / LIMIT

The limit

It does not mean studying in only one location or treating physical context as the only relevant cue.

FINAL NOTE

What remains

Practice with several cues and across contexts so a memory does not depend on one route in.

Source trail

Editorial review: 2026-08-06

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