On the differential nature of implicit and explicit memory

Abstract

In this article, we report two experiments that provide further evidence concerning the differential nature of implicit and explicit memory. In Experiment 1, subjects first undertook a sentenceverification task. While carrying out this task, half of the subjects were also required to carry out a secondary processing task involving tone monitoring. Twenty-four hours later, the subjects' memory for target items in the sentence-verification task was tested explicitly by means of a recognition task and implicitly by examining the extent to which the items primed fragment completion. Recognition performance was significantly impaired by the imposition of secondary processing demands during the original learning phase. In contrast, fragment completion was completely unaffected by this additional processing, even though substantial priming was observed. In Experiment 2, we examined whether priming in fragment completion is influenced by the nature of repetition during initial learning. Subjects studied a list of target items that were each repeated twice. Half the items were repeated immediately Gag 0) and half were repeated after six intervening items (lag 6). Memory for the items was assessed by recognition and by priming in fragment completion. Recognition was affected by lag, with lag 6 items being recognized better than lag 0 items. However, although significant priming was obtained, the extent of this priming was uninfluenced by lag. These data indicate two additional dimensions along which implicit and explicit memory differ and, furthermore, they support recent conceptualizations of processing differences underlying these two forms of memory.

The effect of alcohol and repetition at encoding on implicit and explicit false memories

“…Whilst research has demonstrated no effect of study list repetition on implicit memory (Challis and Sidhu 1993;Parkin et al 1990), the present finding is consistent with more recent research that has found a significant priming effect for multiply presented words over singly presented words (Erickson and Reder 1998). This finding can be accounted for using the Source of Activation Confusion theory (e.g.…”

Forgetting in recognition memory with and without recollective experience

“…For example, levelsof processinghave been found to influence performance in explicit but not implicit tests (Graf & Mandler, 1984;Jacoby & Dallas, 1981); similar results have been found for generate-versus-read study conditions (Gardiner, 1988b), for divided-versus-undivided attention (Parkin, Reid, & Russo, 1990), and for intentional-versusincidental learning and number of rehearsals (Greene, 1986).…”

Dissociation of implicit and explicit memory tests: Effect of age and divided attention on category exemplar generation and cued recall

“…Ifsubjects are engaged in a concurrent attentiondemanding task when list items were available for inspection, their subsequent performance on an explicit episodic task is much lower than that under full-attention conditions. In contrast, studies have shown that concurrent processing tasks have no effect on perceptual repetition priming (Parkin, Reid, & Russo, 1990;Smith & Oscar-Berman, 1990). Manipulations of age and divided attention have suggested that perceptual repetition priming is not dependent on the allocation of attention.…”