In 1975, Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley had divers learn word lists either on land or underwater. Words came back more easily in the same setting where they were learned, and the study became the textbook example of “context-dependent” memory. In 2021, Jaap Murre of the University of Amsterdam reran it with sixteen divers: no same-setting advantage at all. Context effects are real, but often weak.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.