Analysis of the mechanisms of contextual control of information retrievalThe role of interference in context dependence of acquisition and extinction

Abstract

The general goal of this doctoral thesis was to analyze the conditions and mechanisms that underlie the coding of information as context dependent. With this aim, we have developed different studies to evaluate the conditions and mechanisms that underlie the EMACS (Extinction Makes Acquisition Context Specific) effect, as well as to assess whether the effect of changing the context on information retrieval is a particular case of a generalized increase in the attention generated by ambiguity, and that entails paying attention to the entire learning situation, including contexts. The studies carried out in this doctoral thesis describe the conditions under which this effect appears, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, results are consistent with the explanation of coding of information as context-dependent in terms of extinction raising participants’ attention to the context.