The adaptive characteristics of memory: A perspective from the life-span development of associative memory illusion

The reconstructive process in memory may cause distortions or errors.Associative memory illusion is one of the most common types of false memories.It acts as a reflection of the adaptive characteristic of memory by suggesting its ability to adaptively use semantic gist information even with limited cognitive resources.Meanwhile, the adaptive characteristic of memory is also manifested by inhibiting false memories with certain strategies (e.g., encoding item-specific information) to ensure memory accuracy according to the demands of specific situations.This article looks into the life-span developmental features of the adaptive characteristic of memory by summarizing the age features of two types of abilities: employing gist representation and inhibiting associative memory illusion.In the future, further efforts in this field are proposed to explore the specific adaptive nature of memory from the perspective of evolution.