Implicit and Explicit Memory
Memory researchers make a distinction between the methods used to test memory ability. Recall and recognition tasks are known as explicit memory tasks because it is clear to participants that the researchers are testing the ability to retrieve information previously presented. Other methods, such as repetition priming and word-fragment completion, test the ability to retrieve and use information previously presented, but in an indirect way, so that the learned material may guide performance of a somewhat related task without the conscious knowledge of the participant. These tasks tap what is called implicit memory. Jacoby’s work (1983) deals with this memory distinction.
References:
Roediger, H. L. (1990). Implicit memory: Retention without remembering. American Psychologist, 45, 1043-1056.
Schachter, D. L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 13, 501-518.
Jacoby, L. L. (1983). Remembering the data: Analyzing interactive processes in reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22, 485-508.
Instructions
You will need to press the space bar to begin the experiment. A set of horizontal bars will appear in the center of the screen. Please focus on this area. Soon after, sets of antonyms (words of opposite meaning) will be presented on the screen between where the lines were presented. After a delay, you will then be given a memory test.
Keyboard Responses
Key | What Response Means |
---|---|
O | The word appeared in the study |
N | The word didn’t appear in the study |
Begin Experiment
Results
Quiz