Abstract / Summary
Memory theory must explain why interference can affect deliberate and involuntary remembering differently. Studies using distressing films show that a film reminder followed by an imagery-competing task such as Tetris can reduce later spontaneous memories of the film (intrusions) while leaving voluntary memory relatively intact. This selective interference effect is often interpreted through clinical theories of traumatic memory in which intrusive and voluntary remembering depend on different memory representations. We develop an alternative account in an emotional Context Maintenance and Retrieval (eCMR) model that predicts sequences of film and non-film recall events. Events become associated with context, a changing internal representation of experience. A film reminder reinstates film-associated context, so mental imagery generated during the subsequent task becomes associated with that context. During later retrieval, task memories compete with film memories cued by the same context, reducing film recall without weakening the original film associations. During deliberate recall, however, we propose that people pursue the goal of remembering the film by constructing and maintaining a retrieval cue that distinguishes film from task material. In simulations, sustained support from this cue was required to reproduce the selective-interference pattern across reminder and task conditions, protecting deliberate recall relative to involuntary retrieval. These results suggest that competitor learning and retrieval cueing can produce selective interference within a shared memory system, motivating tests in other memory tasks.