Selective attention affects implicit and explicit memory for familiar pictures at different delay conditions

Résumé 0

"Three experiments investigated the effects of two variables –selective attention during encoding anddelay between study and test– on implicit (picture fragment completion and object naming) andexplicit (free recall and recognition) memory tests. Experiments 1 and 2 consistently indicated that (a)at all delays (immediate to 1 month), picture-fragment identification threshold was lower for theattended than the unattended pictures; (b) the attended pictures were recalled and recognized betterthan the unattended; and (c) attention and delay interacted in both memory tests. For implicit memory,performance decreased as delay increased for both attended and unattended pictures, but priming wasmore pronounced and lasted longer for the attended pictures; it was still present after a 1-month delay.For explicit memory, performance decreased as delay increased for attended pictures, but forunattended pictures performance was consistent throughout delay. By using a perceptual object namingtask, Experiment 3 showed reliable implicit and explicit memory for attended but not for unattendedpictures. This study indicates that picture repetition priming requires attention at the time of study andthat neither delay nor attention dissociate performance in explicit and implicit memory tests; both typesof memory require attention, but explicit memory does so to a larger degree."