Events and Boundaries

Abstract

Abstract Human experience unfolds continuously, yet memories tend to be organized into discrete episodes. Event segmentation theory provides a framework for understanding this discretization by suggesting that ongoing experience is characterized by extended periods of high predictability (events) punctuated by transitions between stable states (event boundaries). This chapter begins with a brief introduction to theories of event segmentation in perception and language. Then, the majority of the chapter reviews interactions between event processing and episodic memory, drawing from theoretical, behavioral, and neuroscience literatures. The first section of this review focuses on boundary-related memory processes, including transient memory enhancements, boundary-triggered reinstatement or replay, and the discretization of neighboring events in memory. The second section focuses on processing that unfolds within events, including working memory maintenance, retrieval of schematic information, and ongoing prediction. Together, these data highlight a fundamental relationship between online event segmentation and episodic memory. Finally, some key challenges and open questions for future research are discussed.