In what sense is implicit memory "episodic"? The effect of reinstating environmental context

Abstract

We consider three aspects of the term episodic. Previous literature shows implicit memory does not make conscious autobiographical reference but does code an item's intrinsic context (e.g., perceptual detail). Here, we consider extrinsic context--namely, that not directly processed as part of item identification and not overtly relevant to the task. Study-test mismatch in environmental context (outdoors vs. indoors) reduced memory in an explicit stem-cued recall task but had no effect on repetition priming in an implicit stem completion task. This was true even for very low frequency words. We support the view that implicit memory reflects traces within perceptual (or semantic) knowledge-based systems that are instance specific but do not code the full spatiotemporal context information necessary to support conscious recollection. We also interpret our results as consistent with differences in environmental context specificity between free recall and recognition.