Have you ever experienced seeing something for the first time yet it looks somehow familiar? Have you ever wondered how suddenly you were able to use a word you were unfamiliar with?
The American Heritage Dictionary (2000) defines “remembering” as “recalling to the mind” or “thinking of again.” Conscious remembering or the intentional recollection of past events or experiences constitutes explicit memory. However, dissociation theories of memory suggest that there is more to memory than conscious remembering. Daniel Schacter, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of Searching for Memory, has noted that “conscious recollection is only one domain of memory.” [1] Humans may not be aware that they have learned a skill, yet their performance shows otherwise. This phenomenon is made possible through the use of implicit memory—the retrieval of acquired knowledge without the conscious use of memory.
Most research on memory is conducted in the Western setting. Thus, the research project Processing Task and Age: Effects on Free Recall and Word Fragment Completion Test (2005) by Ms. Janet T. Evasco of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Department of Psychology is significant since it examines explicit and implicit memory as functions of age and of level of processing among Filipinos.
A sample of a hundred and twenty students, from Grade 1, first year high school and first year college of the University of the Philippines enrolled during the school year 2004-2005, was used as subjects of the study. All participants knew how to read and write in both English and Filipino but the majority used Filipino as their primary language. The experiment consisted of two tests, free recall and word fragment completion test of English words and its Filipino translation; each test was utilized to measure memory tasks performed by the participants.
Free recall test and word fragment completion test were used to arrive at scores that would represent explicit and implicit memory performance, respectively. Randomly selected participants from the sample were assigned to each test and scores were recorded. In the free recall test, participants were asked to produce as many words as possible that they could remember from a previously studied list of words. In the word fragment completion test, a number of words were shown one at a time and the participants were tasked to complete the word fragments given to them with the first word that came to mind.
The results of Ms. Evasco’s study show that among the sample—7-8 years old (Grade 1 students), 13-14 years old (first year high school students), and 17-18 (first year college students), age does not significantly affect explicit and implicit memory. No significant age-related differences were revealed, a finding, which, according to Ms. Evasco, indicates that the memory capacity for words of children from grade school is comparable to that of high school and college students.
The level of processing, however, has shown influences on memory. Levels of processing refer to the different ways incoming information is encoded in a person’s memory. In shallow processing, or physical processing, the mind encodes information through the physical and perceptual features of an object. On the other hand, in deep processing, or semantic processing, the mind understands and remembers an object through its meaning and importance. The study found that the level of processing does not significantly affect implicit memory but that a deeper level of processing helps activate explicit memory in performing tasks, a finding which conforms to the results of previous studies in the West.
Semantic processing, therefore, appears to be helpful in learning. Improved methods of teaching and interesting learning materials may elicit a deeper level of processing in the student’s mind and may lead to the activation of explicit memory. Better understanding and longer retention of knowledge may then result.
Ms. Janet T. Evasco finished her Master of Arts in Psychology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Department of Psychology. She is currently working with the Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., Test Development Division, Aptitude and Special Tests Unit. Her work allows her to continually explore her interest in learning and memory and be of help to the academe.
By MMRParreño
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[1] Johnson, Suzanne, “Harvard professor discusses power of human memory,” Online Forty-Niner,
November 16, 1998 <http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/fall98/v5n48-harvard.html>
