Social Memory

Social memory, also known as interpersonal memory, is a cognitive process of inputting, encoding, storing, and retrieving social information, especially the social information of others. As a part of social cognition, social memory begins with the encoding of the inputted social information, a process in which we record the original material and create a mental representation accordingly. Technically, this process is called memory encoding. A common form of encoding is the propositional network, whose theoretical model can store social events under a series of propositions. A propositional network is associative and directional. Each node in the network is well-defined and can be activated.

Type

Social memory features different types of content and encoding method. (1) Trait memory. Trait memory refers to information stored as propositional codes. During communication, individuals tend to infer the traits of other people. Traits inferred will then form a propositional network based on...