Perceptual and Conceptual Processes in Implicit and Explicit Tests with Picture Fragment and Word Fragment Cues

Abstract

In two experiments subjects studied mixed lists of pictures and words presented once (P, W), twice in the same form (PP, WW), or twice in different forms (PW, WP). The different-form condition repeated the concept but not the perceptual features of the stimulus. In Experiment 1, subjects received either an implicit word fragment completion (WFC) test, an implicit picture fragment identification (PFI) test, or a word-recognition test. On the WFC and PFI tests, neither repetition effects nor cross-form priming were obtained, indicating that performance was predominantly data-driven. However, repetition benefited recognition. In Experiment 2, subjects received explicit tests with either the word fragments or picture fragments as retrieval cues. Repetition effects and cross-form recall were now obtained on both tests, showing that conceptual processing contributed to performance. These dissociations are consistent with a transfer appropriate processing framework and suggest that explicit memory tests engage more conceptual processing than implicit tests, even with test cues held constant. The results meet the retrieval intentionality criterion and indicate that the implicit tests were not measurably contaminated by intentional recollection.