Blending of Non-Similar Episodes as a Result of Analogical Mapping with a Third One

This paper presents an attempt to establish a previously unknown phenomenon: blending of dissimilar episodes in long-term memory. In contrast with previous work which demonstrates that similar episodes can be blended, the current experiment shows that even highly dissimilar episodes can be blended if these episodes have simultaneously been mapped onto a third one. In this way analogy-making can produce memory distortions even between episodes that are neither superficially, nor structurally similar. This result confirms a prediction made by the AMBR model of analogy-making.