Psy 342 Learning & Memory

Implicit (Nonconscious) Memory

Chapter 11

 I.  Implicit Memory 

A. Definitions 

Learning instructions—incidental or intentional 

Type of test—implicit or indirect vs. explicit or direct

Memory used by S— implicit (nonconscious) or explicit (conscious)

 Implicit Learning—acquiring knowledge about stimuli without a conscious attempt.

B. Explicit vs. implicit measures  

Explicit (direct) memory test—Ss are instructed to remember information   

Examples—recall, recognition

 Implicit (indirect) memory test—Ss perform a cognitive task which is facilitated by previous experience with the material.  

Examples—word-stem completion, word-fragment completion, repetition priming

 II. Evidence for Implicit Memory

 A.  Amnesia patients

 Warrington and Weiskrantz (1968) --generally show intact procedural memory but lack of declarative memory. Tower of Hanoi Example

 B.  Research with Normal Adults

Kihlstsrom et al. (1990)

 C.  Dissociation—when a variable affects one test differently than another test (variable x test interaction) 

Tulving, Schacter, and Stark (1982)

 Phase I—learn a list of 96 words.

 Phase II (1 hr. later)—word-fragment completion test or a recognition test.  

Phase III (7 days later)—tests were given for the other 48 study words. 

 For recognition test, performance declined over the retention interval.

 For the word completion test, performance remained the same across retention intervals

 Dissociation exists

Graf & Schacter (1987)—RI and PI affected direct tests of memory but did not affect indirect tests. 

Phase I—Ss studied word pairs

 Phase II—Same processing to a second list of word pairs.  

Phase III—Testing.  Cued recall (direct) and word-fragment completion (indirect).

For RI—control Ss performed more accurately than experimental Ss on the direct test. On the indirect test, control and experimental performed at same levels, indicating no interference. 

 For PI—control Ss performed better than experimental Ss on direct test.  On indirect test, performance was equivalent.

 This represents a dissociation.

III. Multiple Memory Systems

Dissociations between direct and indirect tests arise because the tests tap different underlying memory systems.    

    What is a memory system?

        Class inclusion operations

        Properties and Relations 

        Convergent dissociations

Schacter and Tulving (1994)—suggest five memory systems and nearly a dozen subsystems.

Procedural vs. declarative memory

Episodic (autobiographical) and semantic (generic) memory

 What type of memory?

    IV.  Two Processes--recollection and familiarity