Effects of retrieval practice on conceptual explicit and implicit consumer memory

Two experiments are reported that investigate the effects of retrieval practice on explicit and implicit memory for brand names. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to a set of brand names pertaining to a range of product categories. Following this, participants practiced retrieving a subset of the brands before taking an explicit or implicit test for the brands. The explicit test, required recall of the brands in response to product category cues. The implicit test required the generation of the first brand names that came to mind. In both tests, prior retrieval produced retrieval-induced forgetting of the non-practiced brands. Experiment 2 replicated this effect under conditions designed to reduce explicit contamination. In addition, Experiment 2 found that increasing the amount of retrieval practice also increased the magnitude of retrieval-induced forgetting on the explicit but not the implicit test. Implications for advertising and marketing are considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd