Implicit Memories - It’s about what you do not what you say
Implicit Memories
So what are implicit memories, then?
Implicit memory is also known as unconscious memory or automatic memory and are the memories that are hard to say.[i] It uses our past experiences to enable us to remember things without thinking about them.[ii]
Procedural memories are a type of implicit memory.[iii] Think about all the skills you have learned in your life. Here are some examples.
Walking,
Driving a car,
Sing a skipping rope,
Touch typing,
Buttoning a shift, and
Doing that awesome move on the Nintendo 64.
Photo by dolgachov/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by welcomia/iStock / Getty Images
These are all examples of implicit memories.
Implicit memories are easier to recall than explicit ones and, interestingly, implicit memories seem to be less affected when people lose their memory (aka have amnesia).[iv]
In an experiment involving patients with amnesia, three hospital workers interacted with the patients in very different ways. One was pleasant, one was neutral and one was mean. Five days later, the patients were asked if they could remember the workers. They couldn’t. However, when asked to choose a friend, they always chose the friendly one and never the mean one. Somehow, even though they couldn’t’ remember the people, they could remember who was friendly and who was mean!
Photo by Catalin205/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by jacoblund/iStock / Getty Images