Coding and Organization

Coding refers to the interpretations a person gives to experiences. The significance of experience for memory and action depends on the interpretation of the experience. The same events can be interpreted in dramatically different ways depending on a person's knowledge and expectations. To understand coding we must understand the organization and use of knowledge in interpreting experience. The interrelatedness of ideas is one of the most compelling facts of mental life. In personal memories, a single association with some present event can trigger detailed memories of past experiences. Psychology has developed several ideas about the nature of organization in memory.

We can illustrate the influence of coding by comparing the memories of two people with different degrees of knowledge: in this case, an expert and a non-expert about cars. They both see the same small red car. The expert identifies it as a Miata; the...