When items become context: how retrieval questions shape memory

In context-dependent memory research, focal objects are by default ascribed to item whereas backgrounds are considered the context. Questioning this assumption, it was proposed that context is reconstructed rather than encoded: any aspect of an event could become either item or context depending on the question asked. Here we provide evidence supporting this hypothesis across six experiments employing a context reinstatement paradigm. When the memory test focused on background scenes (Experiments 1-2), reinstating the original objects increased old responses to targets and lures. This effect remained when background scenes were task-irrelevant and objects task-relevant at encoding (Experiment 3). Finally, Experiments 4a-5 showed that, when objects are task-irrelevant at encoding, this effect exists but depends on the size of the objects on screen. Overall, these results support that context is reconstructed rather than encoded, although the perceptual properties of the stimuli can limit the effect of context on memory retrieval.