Experimental Research On Perceptual And Conceptual Implicit Memory And Teaching Significance

Development of memory,especially the development of implicit memory is the most concerned problem in the study field of memory.There are always in controversy on whether implicit memory is influced by age differences.This study takes Chinese character as experimental material,recall as the index of explicit memory,word-fragment and examplar production as the index of implicit memory, and discussed if the dissociation exists between different types of implicit memory as well as between implicit memory and explicit memory and also the effect of age to implicit memory by second-graders,fifth-graders,and college students were given either non-semantic or semantic study followed by either a perceptual or a conceptual implicit memory tests.According to the study's purpose,the hypotheses of the current study are as follow: (1) the nonsemantic study/perceptual test condition in implicit memory will reveal no age-related priming effects,where all three age groups will show about the same amount of priming;(2) the semantic study/conceptual test condition in implicit memory will reveal age-related priming effects,where older participants will show more priming than younger participants;(3) the free recall data will show age-related effects,where older participants will recall more target words than younger participants;(4) the free recall data will show effects of study condition,where semantic study will result in higher recall of target words than nonsemantic study;and(5) the free recall data will reveal an interaction between age and study condition,where older participants will benefit more from semantic study than do younger participants.The results show that:1.In the nonsemantic study/perceptual test condition,the 2^nd-graders failed to show an effect of priming,but both the 5^th-graders and the college students did show a priming effect.2.In the semantic study/perceptual test condition,the 2^nd-graders showed a priming effect, and both the 5^th-graders and the college students failed to show a priming effect. 3.In the nonsemantic study/conceptual test condition,none of the participants showed an effect of priming.4.In the semantic study/conceptual test condition,2^nd-graders failed to show a priming effect,while 5^th-graders and college students both showed a priming effect.5.The age effect was the result of differences between 2^nd-graders,5^th-graders,and college students,all of whom were significantly different from each other.Older participant outperformed younger participants in free recall.The mean proportion words recalled was higher in the nonsemantic study condition than in the semantic study condition.And the two-way interaction between age and study was not significant,failing to support the hypothesis that college students would benefit more from semantic study than would younger children.These results can be discussed and interpreted in terms of TAP theory and underscores.the importance of processing views of memory,especially in the development of perceptual and conceptual implicit memory.And this study is of great significance to the teaching.