Abstract
Using implicit tests, older adults have been found to retain
conceptual knowledge of previously seen task-irrelevant
information. While younger adults typically do not show the same
effect, evidence from one study Gopie, N., Craik, F. I. M., &
Hasher, L. (2011). A double dissociation of implicit and
explicit memory in younger and older adults. Psychological
Science, 22, 634-640. doi: 10.1177/0956797611403321 suggests
otherwise. In that study, young adults showed greater explicit
than implicit memory for previous distractors on a word fragment
completion task. This was interpreted as evidence for
maintaining access to previous conceptual knowledge of the
distractors. Here, we report two failures to replicate that
original finding, followed by a third study designed to test
directly whether young adults use conceptual-level information
that was previously irrelevant. Our findings agree with others
that young adults show weak to no evidence of conceptual
knowledge of previously irrelevant information.
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