Context and Retrieval Effects on Implicit Cognition for Substance Use

This chapter reviews context effects on substance use and substance-use associations. We interpret these ubiquitous effects as a natural consequence of memory retrieval processes that influence the accessibility of substance-use associations. Further, accessibility of memories about substance-use outcomes and behaviors potentially mediates substance-use behaviors by determining what behavioral options are considered and what outcomes are anticipated. Context effects may have unconscious influences and impact on implicit memories about substance use. The implicit memory effects of context may be uniquely relevant to developing more effective prevention and intervention approaches by encouraging procedures that reduce or replace the retrieval of substance-use memories that influence behavioral decisions. Context has its roots in the Latin word, contextus, literally meaning to weave together. In psychology, context refers to the tapestry of external or internal events interwoven around a target behavior or cognitive process. Context shapes our experience, is encoded in our memories, and sets the options for our thoughts and actions. In the true sense of its Latin meaning, context is the ubiquitous background integrated with the foreground of our interest. The impact of context is twofold. First, it provides the setting for current thoughts and actions. Second, context wraps our memories in a rich array of detail that is often the means of memory retrieval and the material of meaning. Context is most important when meaning is ambiguous: a word with multiple meanings, a subtle shading of intention, or the choice point in a maze. Context implicitly reduces ambiguity, defines the options, and forces choices. This chapter explores how context influences memories, associations, and expectancies about substance use, with the goal of improving our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying substanceuse behavior. Before reviewing the role of context in substance use, it is useful to distinguish between content and context. In studying memory processes, researchers often focus on a defined content item and measure C H A P T E R 19-Wiers-4815.qxd 9/15/2005 6:39 PM Page 281