  When involution affects individuals, their efforts do not augment resources
but merely compete for limited resources. From entrance exams to company
overtime, such efforts lead to unnecessary costs, undermining group welfare.
Meanwhile, the individual advantages or collective disadvantages from this
unnecessary effort may accumulate over time, such as the long-term validity of
test scores. To identify the role of this memory factor, we propose a
memory-based involution game model. In a more competitive environment, our
findings suggest: (i) with scant social resources, increasing memory length
curbs involution, (ii) with moderate resources, increasing memory length
initially intensifies involution but later reduces it, and (iii) with abundant
social resources, increasing memory length amplifies involution. Conversely, in
a less competitive environment, involution consistently decreases with a larger
memory length. Our research provides insights into mitigating involution by
considering memory effects.
