Memory Concepts: Explicit vs Implicit, Source/Destination Memory, and Priming

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from memory lecture notes: explicit vs implicit memory, source vs destination memory, aging effects, and priming-related tasks.

Ebbinghaus’ contribution

Early memory researcher who used controlled experiments with nonsense syllables to study memory—pioneered systematic measurement, forgetting, and retention in laboratory settings.

Savings method

A memory measure that compares relearning time after a delay to initial learning time; greater savings indicates better retention.

Forgetting curve

The pattern of rapid memory loss shortly after learning that slows over time, illustrating how retention declines.

Explicit memory (Direct)

Memory tests in which a person consciously tries to recall or recognize past information (taps declarative memory).

Implicit memory (Nondeclarative)

Memory shown through performance without conscious recollection, such as priming or skills, that influences behavior.

Direct tests

Memory assessments that require conscious retrieval of past experiences (e.g., recall, cued recall, recognition).

Indirect tests

Memory assessments where the task does not require explicit memory judgments but behavior is influenced by prior experience (e.g., priming tasks).

Source memory

Memory for the origin of information—where or from whom you learned something.

Destination memory

Memory for to whom you have told information or to whom you conveyed a memory.

Aging and source memory

Older adults typically show declines in recalling the origin of information (source memory) compared with younger adults.

Aging and destination memory

Destination memory often declines with age; older adults may struggle to recall to whom they told information.

Episodic memory

Memory for personal experiences and events, including the context and time; part of explicit (declarative) memory.

Semantic memory

General world knowledge and facts not tied to a specific time or place.

Explicit (Declarative) memory

Conscious recall of facts and events, including both episodic and semantic memory.

Implicit (Nondeclarative) memory

Nonconscious memory expressed through performance, such as priming, procedural skills, and conditioning.

Perceptual priming

Improved processing or identification of a perceptual stimulus due to prior exposure, often without conscious memory of the exposure.

Word stem completion

A priming task where participants complete word stems; prior exposure biases responses toward previously seen words.

Perceptual ID test

Implicit memory test where briefly presented (often masked) words are identified; encoding is incidental and not treated as a memory test.

Incidental encoding

Learning that occurs without intent to memorize or explicit instructions to remember.

Masking

Presenting stimuli briefly or obscured to prevent conscious identification, used in perceptual identification tasks.