ABSTRACT
In this chapter we focus on representations which already exist in permanent memory, with respect to changes in their characteristics and their interactions with other representations. First, we examine the effects of repetition on the functional character of the internal representation. As is well known, repetition or practice has profound effects on memories and is closely connected to the experience of familiarity and recognition. Thus, an understanding of what factors underlie the “strength” of a memory is essential to even the sketchiest theory of memory. Second, the phenomenon of interference is studied. Although match-mismatch theory does not ascribe all forgetting or negative transfer to the effects of interference or response competition, it nevertheless plays an important role in memorial phenomena. Third, we analyze the apparent functional differences that exist between factual memory and what is commonly termed autobiographical memory, a distinction captured in the episodic-semantic memory dichotomy popularized by Tulving. As we will see, the concepts of episodic and semantic memory have ramifications with respect to several issues raised in this section such as the effects of repetition, the nature of memorial associations, and encoding and retrieval strategies.
