ABSTRACT

Functional memory—memory as it functions in goals and actions of everyday life—departs from the dominating tradition of reproductive memory in two major respects. First, what is stored goes beyond the original stimulus materials to include inferences from those materials relevant to operative goals. Second, this memory store is conceptualized as a knowledge system—which functions in construction of values relative to present and subsequent goal-directed action. In both respects, reproductive memory has secondary significance.