Level of Processing Affects Performance on Explicit and Implicit Memory Tasks

We examined the effect of level of processing on explicit and implicit memory performance. 58 high school students were shown a word list and were given either semantic or nonsemantic instructions. Subsequently, they were administered a free-recall test to assess explicit memory retention and a word-completion test to assess implicit memory retention. Level of processing affected both explicit and implicit performance. Depth of processing had a larger effect on the expression of explicit memory than on implicit memory.