{"id":23373,"date":"2021-01-14T08:54:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T12:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=23373"},"modified":"2026-05-03T16:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T20:14:15","slug":"implicit-and-explicit-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What’s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the difference between implicit and explicit memory? What kinds of information do they store? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, deliberate recollection of factual and autobiographical knowledge. Implicit memory is the knowledge that you draw upon without consciously realizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the difference between implicit and explicit memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Implicit and Explicit Memory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of memory: implicit and explicit memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. An explicit memory is one that you deliberately recall<\/strong>, which is typically what people are referring to when they talk about memories.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. An implicit memory is knowledge that you draw upon without even thinking about it.<\/strong> For example, skills such as driving a car are procedural <\/em>implicit memories because you don\u2019t have to think about what you\u2019re doing every time you step on the gas or hit your turn signal. Implicit memories also include a process called priming<\/a><\/em>, in which a child\u2019s earliest memories form the foundation for how she\u2019ll view the world for the rest of her life\u2014whether her parents are attentive or indifferent, their treatment will dictate her expectations in future relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: A third type of implicit memory is called classical conditioning<\/em>, which is when an association forms between two stimuli and causes you to respond in a certain way. Physiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning in his famous dog-treat experiment. The integration strategies we\u2019ll discuss will target this type of implicit memory.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All of the individual sensations, thoughts, and emotions associated with a memory are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When you think or talk about an experience, you integrate all the pieces to form a complete picture of the memory in the context of your life story. However, if you don\u2019t integrate the memory\u2014because the experience was scary or painful\u2014then the pieces float around your brain in a jumble. <\/strong>When you have unintegrated implicit memories, the associations among the sensations, thoughts, and emotions are still intact. This means that a present experience can trigger an emotion,<\/strong> but you don\u2019t know why.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Unintegrated memories can create anxiety around everyday activities, injure your child\u2019s self-confidence, and impede her ability to trust others. As long as your child is unaware of the source of the fear, anxiety, or anger that her unintegrated memories are triggering, then she remains a victim of them.<\/strong> This can cause sleep issues, phobias, and other physical, mental, and emotional problems. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What is the difference between implicit and explicit memory? What kinds of information do they store? There are two types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, deliberate recollection of factual and autobiographical knowledge. Implicit memory is the knowledge that you draw upon without consciously realizing it. Read about the difference between implicit and explicit memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":23385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,160],"tags":[186],"class_list":["post-23373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-whole-brain-child","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nImplicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What’s the Difference?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\"},\"wordCount\":424,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Whole-Brain Child\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\",\"name\":\"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00\",\"description\":\"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg\",\"width\":1220,\"height\":650,\"caption\":\"How to Visualize Success and Achieve Your Goals\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What’s the Difference?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\",\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"caption\":\"Darya Sinusoid\"},\"description\":\"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference? - Shortform Books","description":"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference?","og_description":"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1220,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Darya Sinusoid","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Darya Sinusoid","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/"},"author":{"name":"Darya Sinusoid","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46"},"headline":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What’s the Difference?","datePublished":"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/"},"wordCount":424,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","keywords":["The Whole-Brain Child"],"articleSection":["Psychology","Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/","name":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What's the Difference? - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-14T12:54:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-03T20:14:15+00:00","description":"There are 2 types of memory: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory is one you deliberately recall, and implicit is unconscious.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","width":1220,"height":650,"caption":"How to Visualize Success and Achieve Your Goals"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implicit-and-explicit-memory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Implicit and Explicit Memory: What’s the Difference?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46","name":"Darya Sinusoid","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","caption":"Darya Sinusoid"},"description":"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/human-person-girl-self-think-dream-remember.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23373"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149219,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373\/revisions\/149219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}