We tested whether similarity between events triggers adaptive biases in how those events are remembered. We generated pairs of competing objects that were identical except in color and varied the degree of color similarity for the competing objects. Subjects (N = 123 across four experiments) repeatedly studied and were tested on associations between each of these objects and corresponding faces. As expected, high color similarity between competing objects created memory interference for object–face associations. Strikingly, high color similarity also resulted in a systematic bias in how the objects themselves were remembered: Competing objects with highly similar colors were remembered as being further apart (in color space) than they actually were. This repulsion of color memories increased with learning and served a clear adaptive purpose: Greater repulsion was associated with lower associative-memory interference. These findings reveal that similarity between events triggers adaptive-memory distortions that minimize interference.

我们测试了事件之间的相似性是否会触发记忆这些事件的适应性偏差。我们生成了成对的竞争对象，这些对象除了颜色之外都相同，并改变了竞争对象的颜色相似度。科目（N= 123（四个实验））反复研究并测试了这些对象中的每一个与相应面孔之间的关联。正如预期的那样，竞争对象之间的高度颜色相似性对对象-面部关联产生了记忆干扰。引人注目的是，高度的颜色相似性也导致了物体本身被记住的系统性偏差：具有高度相似颜色的竞争物体被记忆为比实际距离更远（在颜色空间中）。这种对颜色记忆的排斥随着学习而增加，并具有明显的适应性目的：较大的排斥与较低的联想记忆干扰有关。这些发现表明，事件之间的相似性会触发自适应记忆失真，从而最大限度地减少干扰。