Priming Theory and Networks
The article and the theory of priming deal with drawing a parallel between memory retrieval and networks. The theory describes how the excitation of one memory can lead to the activation of other memories that are associated with it. Because these associations are often implicit, this theory can, to some extent, explain how ideas that are semantically unrelated can psychologically related. This implies that meaning is not only a matter between an idea and its definition. Meaning is established through association and can be revealed through cue retrieval and decision theory.
This theory has the same model as network theories. Memories and ideas are nodes and the psychological pathways are the edges. Edges can go in either direction and are the pathways through which excitation is transferred. The bank of memories a person has is essentially a network, but even more importantly meaning is like a network. The functional meaning of an idea cannot be found in a dictionary; it exists in relation to other ideas. This understanding of nodes in relation to other nodes is that which leads to discussions of concepts like power within networks. Modeling sets of memories like a network allows for the complexity of meaning to be conveyed.
http://star.psy.ohio-state.edu/html/coglab/People/roger/pdf/Papers/psychrev88b.pdf