Analysis of the early development of implicit memory: Characteristics, course, and implications

Abstract

Several researchers have hypothesized that implicit memory remains stable across the lifespan. Empirical support with children has been difficult to interpret due to methodological weaknesses including baseline variation, floor and ceiling effects, and lack of experimental dissociations. A new measure of repetition priming, the picture fragment completion task, was developed to account for these weaknesses while being appropriate for both children and adults. Adults and children aged 4, 6, and 8 (N = 156) completed either the picture fragment completion task or an explicit memory test made from same materials. Subjects of all ages performed equally on the priming test while performance increased with age on the explicit memory test. For all ages, the levels of processing manipulation affected only the explicit memory test. Thus, subjects were not using effortful strategies on the priming test. These results form a solid foundation for studying other developmental issues in implicit memory.