Age-related differences in pictorial implicit memory: role of perceptual and conceptual processes

This study examined the effects of perceptual and conceptual encoding processes on younger and older adults' implicit and explicit memory for pictures. During acquisition, participants studied simple line drawings under varying encoding task conditions. Half of the participants judged the orientation of the central object, a perceptual encoding task. The other half indicated the taxonomic category to which the object belonged, a conceptual encoding task. Implicit memory measures were priming in picture-fragment and word-fragment completion. Explicit measures were free recall and recognition. Results showed that the magnitude of age differences in primed picture completion varied across encoding task conditions. Age deficits occurred on both explicit tasks. Implications of these results for current views on implicit memory aging are discussed.