The role of surface and structural similarities in the retrieval of dynamic perceptually rich events.

Abstract

Whereas most studies on analogical retrieval have resorted to written narratives as experimental stimuli, less is known about the ability to extract structures from dynamic and perceptually rich events to retrieve analog experiences. The current study is aimed at bridging this gap by assessing the role of surface and structural similarities in the retrieval of video clips of daily-life interactions as a proxy for real-life events. In Experiment 1, we presented participants with a video clip sharing either surface similarities, structural similarities or that was unrelated to video clips that had been previously watched. The results showed that the retrieval of an initial video was more likely to be elicited when it was cued by structural rather than surface similarities. Experiment 1B confirmed that the surface cues manipulated in the current study were strong enough to drive substantial retrievals when the competing structural match was neutralized. The pattern of results obtained in Experiment 1A remained unchanged with the introduction of a greater number of unrelated video clips within the initial set. The findings extend previous works by showing that structurally-based retrievals still prevail when dealing with dynamic and perceptually rich events akin to those encountered in daily-life.