Abstract
The functional relationship between recognition memory and conscious awareness was examined in two experiments in which subjects indicated when recognizing a word whether or not they could consciously recollect its prior occurrence in the study list. Both levels of processing and generation effects were found to occur only for recognition accompanied by conscious recollection. Recognition in the absence of conscious recollection, although less likely, was generally reliable and uninfluenced by encoding conditions. These results are consistent with dual-process theories of recognition, which assume that recognition and priming in implicit memory have a common component. And they strengthen the case for making a functional distinction between episodic memory and other memory systems.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Craik, F. I. M., &Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,104, 268–294.
Graf, P., &Mandler, G. (1984). Activation makes words more accessible, but not necessarily more retrievable.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,23, 553–568.
Graf, P., &Schacter, D. L. (1985). Implicit and explicit memory for new associations in normal and amnesic subjects.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,11,501–518.
Jacoby, L. L. (1983). Remembering the data: Analyzing interactive processes in reading.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,22, 485–508.
Jacoby, L. L., &Dallas, M. (1981). On the relationship between autobiographical memory and perceptual learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,3, 306–340.
Mandler, G. (1980). Recognizing: The judgment of previous occurrence.Psychological Review,87, 252–271.
Roediger, H. L., III., &Blaxton, T. A. (1987). Retrieval modes produce dissociations in memory for surface information. In D. S. Gorfein & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.),Memory and cognitive processes: The Ebbinghaus Centennial Conference (pp. 349–379). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schacter, D. L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,13, 501–518.
Slamecka, N. J., &Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,4, 592–604.
Squire, L. R. (1982). The neuropsychology of human memory.Annual Review of Neuroscience,5, 241–273.
Squire, L. R., &Cohen, N. J. (1984). Human memory and amnesia. In G. Lynch, J. L. McGaugh, & N. M. Weinberger (Eds.),Neurobiology of memory (pp. 3–64). New York: Guilford Press.
Squire, L. R., Shimamura, A. P., &Graf, P. (1985). Independence of recognition memory and priming effects: A neuropsychological analysis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,11, 37–44.
Tulving, E. (1983).Elements of episodic memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tulving, E. (1985a). How many memory systems are there?American Psychologist,40, 385–398.
Tulving, E. (1985b). Memory and consciousness.Canadian Psychologist,26, 1–12.
Watkins, M. J., & Gibson, J. M. (in press). On the relation between perceptual prinung and recognition memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gardiner, J.M. Functional aspects of recollective experience. Memory & Cognition 16, 309–313 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197041
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197041