Adaptive Repulsion of Long-Term Memory Representations Is Triggered by Event Similarity
通过四个实验（共123名被试）研究颜色相似性对记忆的影响，发现高相似性事件会引发记忆扭曲（颜色记忆被推离实际位置），这种排斥随学习增强并减少记忆干扰，揭示了记忆的适应性调整机制。
We tested whether similarity between events triggers adaptive biases in how those events are remembered. We generated pairs of competing objects that were identical except in color and varied the degree of color similarity for the competing objects. Subjects ( N = 123 across four experiments) repeatedly studied and were tested on associations between each of these objects and corresponding faces. As expected, high color similarity between competing objects created memory interference for object–face associations. Strikingly, high color similarity also resulted in a systematic bias in how the objects themselves were remembered: Competing objects with highly similar colors were remembered as being further apart (in color space) than they actually were. This repulsion of color memories increased with learning and served a clear adaptive purpose: Greater repulsion was associated with lower associative-memory interference. These findings reveal that similarity between events triggers adaptive-memory distortions that minimize interference.