Episodic memory and the temporal dynamics of cognitive control

Humans adapt their engagement with tasks based on current goals, a process known as cognitive control. The “episodic control hypothesis” posits that episodic memory supports cognitive control by encoding task-related experiences—such as difficulties encountered and strategies used—and retrieving this information to guide future behavior. While computational models have traditionally emphasized separate mechanisms for control allocation (e.g., sequential vs. item-specific, proactive vs. reactive), we demonstrate how the “temporal context model” of episodic memory unifies these effects within a single theoretical framework. Furthermore, we tested and confirmed a novel prediction of the episodic control hypothesis, being that cues signaling future task difficulties (i.e., cognitive conflict) elicit immediate allocation of cognitive control, rather than delaying recruitment of control until the anticipated moment of conflict. Overall, the episodic control hypothesis provides a convincing and more coherent theoretical framework for control allocation effects, and can help understand observed individual differences in the regulation of cognitive control by further refining definitions of proactive and reactive control employed within the dual mechanisms of control framework.