What are the different types of memory? Provide examples of how these memory systems are

assessed. Describe age differences in the memory systems based on research using these
paradigms.

What will be an ideal response?

It is theorized that there are different types of memory: implicit, or memories that are
deeply stored that require little effort to retrieve; semantic, or our general, acquired
knowledge base; and, episodic, or memories for less connected facts or events. One of
the more popular implicit memory tasks is the lexical decision making task. In this
paradigm, adults are shown words and non-words and must quickly decide which
stimulus is a word. Semantic memory tasks, such as the semantic priming paradigm,
consists of recognizing whether certain word pairs (e.g., cat-dog) are more similar than
non-related pairs (e.g., train-sky). In episodic memory tasks, the adult must remember
information without cues, for example, in the free recall paradigm, the adult must
remember words that have been presented earlier without any assistance. In general,
most studies suggest that episodic memory declines in adults more rapidly than implicit
or semantic memories.