Contextualizing cognition: Socio-environmental factors shape how momentary stress predicts memory

Objective: Humans rely on previously gained knowledge (i.e., memory) to navigate social and environmental demands. This is critical for the biopsychosocial wellness of an individual and shapes cognitive health across the lifespan. Stress exposures—psychological and/or physical challenges—can be prioritized during memory processing as they help individuals identify key elements necessary to build expectations and adapt to future challenges. Empirical research has mostly conceptualized stress as person-level responses to internal or external exposures, yet it is known that environmental factors significantly alter psychological and physiological responses to stress. Here, we consider how socio-environmental factors—area density and resources, interact with stress indicators to shape memory processing. Methods: We examined how area density and socioeconomic resources, influence daily psychological and physiological stress responses to predict memory recall in a geographically diverse sample of U.S. adults. Participants appraised their psychological stress and provided on-demand blood pressure for twenty-one days. A standard paired-associates memory task was administered up to six times throughout the study. Results: Population density and socioeconomic resources shaped how individual-level stress responses predicted recall. For example, living in densely populated areas and experiencing an acute stressor predicted worse memory. For those living in areas with fewer socioeconomic resources higher systolic blood pressure was associated with better memory recall. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the socio-environmental context can either burden or advantage psychophysiological resources and cognitive output depending on the stressor context.