Specificity of priming: a cognitive neuroscience perspective.
Priming is a nonconscious form of memory that involves a change in a person's ability to identify, produce or classify an item as a result of a previous encounter with that item or a related item. One important question relates to the specificity of priming - the extent to which priming reflects the influence of abstract representations or the retention of specific features of a previous episode. Cognitive neuroscience analyses provide evidence for three types of specificity: stimulus, associative and response. We consider empirical, methodological and conceptual issues that relate to each type of specificity, and suggest a theoretical perspective to help in guiding future research.
Schacter
Daniel L
DL
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. dls@wjh.harvard.edu
Dobbins
Ian G
IG
Schnyer
David M
DM
D001244:Association; D003071:Cognition; D003463:Cues; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009488:Neurosciences