Implicit vs. Explicit Memory

Medically Reviewed by Zilpah Sheikh, MD on August 02, 2024
7 min read

Your implicit memory helps you remember how to do things without consciously thinking about it.

 It includes skills and habits, like how to ride a bike and how to get around your house. It also includes things that come back to you easily and automatically, like remembering the words to a song.

Your implicit memory is unconscious, which means you automatically recall something without consciously thinking about it. Your explicit memory is conscious, which means you intentionally remember something.

With implicit memory, you store things and they come back to you automatically. You don’t have to make an effort to retrieve them.

For example, you remember how to drive your car. When you want to go, you automatically step on the gas. When you want to slow down or stop, you step on the brake.

Another example is when you react to something a certain way because of something similar that happened in the past. For example, you may feel scared when you see something that reminds you of a horror movie you once watched.

Your explicit memory, on the other hand, involves recalling and recognizing things like facts and events. Unlike implicit memory, you’re aware of what you’re recalling. Explicit memory helps you remember who, what, where, when, and how.

For example, you may remember your mother’s birthday, the fact that dolphins are mammals, or details about a vacation you once took.

A simple way to think about the difference between implicit and explicit memory is that implicit memory involves “knowing how” and explicit memory involves “knowing that.”

Explicit memory tends to fade over time. If you don’t recall things you’ve learned, you may have trouble remembering them later. Implicit memory tends to last a long time, even if you don’t regularly practice what you’ve learned. Implicit memory may last a lifetime.

Implicit memory, which is also called nondeclarative memory, has five types:

Procedural memory helps you remember how to do something. It includes things like reading, swimming, and tying your shoes. You don’t have to think about how to do these tasks or skills. You can do them automatically.

Procedural memory works with mental and motor skills. After you learn the mental skills involved in reading, for example, or the motor skills involved in riding a bike, they become second nature.

Priming memory triggers a reaction based on something you experienced in the past. You may not be aware of why you have that reaction. For example, if you watch a scary movie, seeing a spider may trigger a fear response. You may not realize you’ve been primed to be scared.

Priming effects create associations based on what you already know. For example, if someone gives you a list of three words and asks you to fill in the blank for the fourth word, what you say may depend on what you associate with the words.

Let’s say the list includes “bath,” “bubbles,” and “clean,” and the fourth word starts with the letters “s” and “o.” Your brain may assume the word is “soap” because of the first three words. But if the first three words are “cooking,” “food,” and “hot,” you’ll be more likely to think the fourth word is “soup.”

Category learning is where you unconsciously group things together, like certain colors or certain faces, so you can compare them and understand them better.

With category learning, your brain searches for higher-level things that experiences have in common, then puts them into meaningful categories and concepts. This helps you instantly recognize something and respond to it in the right way, even if you’ve never encountered it before.

For example, you store friendly facial expressions from friendly encounters with people, so you can recognize a friendly face when you see one, even if you’ve never met that person before.

Emotional learning is when your feelings shape how you store and remember things. For example, if you have strong emotions tied to a certain event, your memory of the event may be stronger than if it didn’t involve strong feelings.

It may also affect how you remember separate events. For example, after you experience a psychological trauma, it may trigger a strong emotional reaction to another event that reminds you of it.

Perceptual learning helps you make sense of what you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. When you’re exposed to stimuli over and over again, it helps you recognize small differences in things that may seem similar. An example is when you learn how to tell the difference between musical pitches after hearing them over and over.

Explicit memory, which is also called declarative memory, has four types:

Episodic memory is when your memory consciously stores and recalls information about experiences you have. These experiences are also called episodes. For example, you may look back and remember your first day of school.

Semantic memory is when you remember information you learned about the world. It‘s also called “generic memory.” It includes common knowledge, academic knowledge, the meanings of words, and subjects that you have expertise in. For example, you may dig into your memory to recall a specific fact, like Istanbul is a city in Turkey.

Autobiographical memory uses your personal history to store and remember things. It may involve both episodic and semantic memories.

Your memories of certain objects, people, spaces, or time are based on your personal experiences. You see them and remember from your point of view. They’re subjective and shaped by how you see yourself and the world.

Spatial memory helps you know where objects or places are located. Your brain stores information about where things are positioned, including direction, distance, and orientation, to help you find your way around.

For example, you remember where a certain store is located inside a local mall, or you remember the route to drive when you’re going home.

Implicit memory is when you store and remember things without conscious effort. It often involves skills, habits, and priming effects. Examples include:

  • Brushing your teeth
  • Catching a ball
  • Driving
  • Feeling scared because of something that happened before
  • Getting around your neighborhood
  • Having an emotional response because of past experiences
  • Making breakfast
  • Playing an instrument
  • Reading
  • Remembering the words to a song
  • Riding a bike
  • Swimming
  • Tying your shoes

Explicit memory is when you consciously remember facts, events, and personal experiences. It involves intentionally retrieving information. Examples include:

  • Dates and times of doctor’s appointments
  • Details about a past event, like your first day of school
  • Knowing that London is the capital of England
  • Knowing what a dog looks like
  • Knowing where a certain store is located
  • Knowing which countries are in Africa
  • Knowing who came over for dinner last night
  • The meanings of words
  • Recalling the items on your to-do list
  • Recognizing something that “rings a bell”
  • Remembering the route to get home
  • Remembering something you did, like took the bus to get to work
  • Snapshots of what happened to you
  • Your best friend’s birthday

Episodic memory examples include life events. You may replay snapshots or short episodes in your mind when you think about certain things that happened to you or around you. For example, you may remember what happened on your first day of work or the events of your wedding.

Semantic memory examples include information you know about the world. It includes general information about common objects and the meaning of words. For example, you may remember the capital of England is London, or you may remember that a vase holds flowers.

Implicit memory helps you remember how to do things without consciously thinking about it. It includes skills and habits, like riding a bike, and things that come to you automatically, like the words to a song. It’s different from explicit memory, which involves consciously remembering things like facts and events. 

What are examples of implicit vs. explicit memory?

An example of implicit memory is knowing how to do something like ride a bike. You can do it automatically, without thinking about it. An example of an explicit memory is remembering an event or fact like your mother’s birthday, which you do deliberately.

What’s the difference between explicit and implicit cognition?

With explicit cognition, you use deliberate strategies to think about something. With implicit cognition, you take in knowledge automatically, without being aware of it.

What are examples of implicit and explicit learning?

An example of implicit learning is storing information about an experience you’re having, even if you’re not aware of it. An example of explicit learning is taking in facts from a textbook.

What are three examples of explicit memory?

Knowing what a dog looks like, knowing that London is the capital of England, and knowing where a certain store is located

What’s an example of explicit knowledge?

A good example of explicit knowledge is information you learned from a textbook, such as dates of historical events. When you’re taking a multiple-choice exam, for example, you consciously recall the dates you’re being tested on.

What are examples of implicit and explicit needs?

Implicit needs involve unconscious things that affect what you think about, feel, and do. They push you toward things you want to do, like an activity you enjoy. Explicit needs motivate you to do what you have to do. For example, you may feel pulled toward doing something that makes other people happy.