STATE-DEPENDENT MEMORY or STATE-DEPENDENT LEARNING is the phenomenon through which memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed.
The term is often used to describe memory retrieval while in states of consciousness produced by psychoactive
drugs – most commonly,
alcohol, but has implications for mood or non-substance induced states of consciousness as
well.
Unlike CONTEXT-DEPENDENT MEMORY, which involves an individual's external environment and conditions, state-dependent memory applies to the individual's internal conditions.
For example, while context-dependent memory might refer to the idea that taking a
test in the same room that an individual studied in
will make it easier to retrieve those memories, state-dependent learning refers to the idea that if an individual always studied for a
test while slightly caffeinated, it
will most likely be easiest to recall what they studied during the
test if they are at a similar level of caffeination.
1: "Why are you always trying to
control situations, that can't possibly be controlled? You are just constantly in low-vibration
state broski."
2: "Man, that's probably due to my
state-dependent memory, it is a habit written in there, I use to get pissed off a lot. And you know what? That's really pissing me off."
