Brainstorm…
 What is learning?
How would you define it?
 Are there different types of
learning?
 How do you learn new facts? New skills?
 Is all knowledge due to a
conscious processes, or is
some knowledge acquired by
unconscious processes?
Explicit vs. implicit learning chart
http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/research/teachingP140C/Lectures2009/2009_memory_partI.ppt
Implicit Learning
 Passive process
 People acquire knowledge of new

information through exposure. Evolve
outside of awareness, and cannot be
consciously recalled, but causes changes
in behavior.
“Muscle Memory”
 Discuss: What have you learned using
Implicit Learning?
Implicit Learning
H.M. and Implicit Learning
 H.M. is a famous patient
who had part of his
brain removed and was
no longer able to form
new memories.
 When performing tasks,
such as mirror tracing,
he was able to improve
over time.
 This result shows that
he was capable of some
types of implicit
learning or “motor
memory”
Explicit Learning
 Active process
 People seek out the structure of any information
that is presented to them.
 “Declarative Memory” -- one can talk about the
details of explicit memories and discuss them as
fact
 “Explicit learning is a more conscious operation
where the individual makes and tests hypotheses
in a search for structure” (Nick C. Ellis)
 Discuss: What have you learned using Explicit
Learning?
Implicit v. Explicit Learning
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=frcogimp&part=ch12&rendertype=figure&id=ch12.f7
Explicit & Implicit Memory Tests
Look at the following words. This will test your
memory for these words in various ways.
SPONGE
CANDY
DOLPHIN
PACKAGE POSTER
LICORICE
ZEBRA
SECTION
CAMOFLAGE
MISTAKE
PORTAL
KNAPSACK
COFFEE
QUAIL
ALPINE
HANDLE
PANTRY
CARPET
EAGER
CELLO
PRESSURE
LLAMA
ORIOLE
ACRID
Memory Test
 Explicit test of memory: recall

Write down the words you remember from the
list in the earlier slide
 Implicit test of memory: word fragment
completion

On the next slide, you will see some words
missing letters, some “word fragments” and
some anagrams. Guess what each word might
be.
EGNOPS
*AN*Y
PACKAGE P*S*E*
*OL*H**
LICORICE
*E*RA
SE*T*O*
C**O*LA*E
*I*TA*E
PORTAL
KNAPSACK
COFFEE
*U*IL
AEILNP
*AN*LE
*A*T*Y
ACEPRT
*A*E*
C*L**
*RE*S**E
AALLM
EILOOR
*C*ID
Implicit Memory Tasks
 Word-fragment completion is an implicit
memory task.
Fragments are (often) completed with words
previously studied in the absence of an
explicit instruction to remember the word
 Amnesiacs often showed spared implicit
memory
dissociation suggest different systems for
implicit and explicit memory systems
Implicit vs. Explicit Memory
 Graf, Squire, & Mandler (1984):
cheese, house, …

Study words:

Explicit memory test: cued recall.
Complete fragment to a word from study list:
ch _ _ _ _

Implicit memory test: word stem completion.
Complete fragment to form any word:
ch _ _ _ _
Bean Bag Toss Experiment
Objective
 To investigate and quantify different types
of learning (implicit and explicit) in the
context of a bean-bag toss game using
Fresnel prism goggles.
Hypotheses
 ???
Post “Bean Bag Toss” Debriefing:




Which trial used implicit learning? Why?
Which trial used explicit learning? Why?
Which type of learning is easier? Why?
Can explicit and implicit learning be separated
or are they interdependent with one being
more prevalent that the other depending of the
learning context?
 Does explicit learning lead to
implicit knowledge?
Debrief
 Learning is a relatively permanent change in
behavior that marks an increase in
knowledge, skills, or understanding thanks to
recorded memories.
 Human memory is fundamentally associative.
It is easier to remember new information if it
is associated with previously acquired
knowledge that is already firmly anchored in
memory. The more meaningful the
association, the more effectively it will help
remember.
Extension: Tower of Hanoi
 The objective of the puzzle is to move
the entire stack to another rod, obeying
the following rules:
Only one disk may be moved at a time.
 Each move consists of taking the upper
disk from one of the rods and sliding it
onto another rod, on top of the other
disks that may already be present on
that rod.
 No disk may be placed on top of a
smaller disk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_of_Hanoi_4.gif
Tower of Hanoi Experiment
 What type(s) of learning is used to
perform this type of task?
 Will your performance increase as you
play the game over the course of several
days?
 Design an experiment to test your
hypothesis.