Types of Associative Memory

  • Implicit Associative Memory

Physiological processes that are affected by implicit memory include the following: performance, arousal level, reaction time, habituation, and thalamic (in the brain) processing speed.

One of the most widely-used tests for implicit associative memory is priming, which was developed by Kutas & Hillyard in 1980[1]. Priming is used to test whether a word or image influences how the subject responds to another stimulus, thus indicating that they have previously encountered the word or image before.

An example of priming is when a person is shown a picture of a car, and then asked to identify a second picture that is related in some way (e.g., another car). If they are able to identify the correct match faster than if they had never seen the first picture, then it is considered evidence that the first picture primed the person to recognize the second.

  • Explicit Associative Memory

Explicit associative memory relies on conscious recollection of information or events. There are two types of explicit associative memory: episodic and semantic[1].

  • Episodic memories are the recall of specific personal experiences, such as a wedding anniversary
  • Semantic memories refer to facts about the world, such as knowing that Paris is in France.
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