Implicit memory — also called unconscious or procedural memory — is acquired and used outside conscious awareness yet shapes thought and behavior, one of the two principal forms of long-term memory.
Its counterpart is 📝Explicit Memory, which involves intentional, conscious recollection. Implicit memory surfaces in 📝Priming — the unconscious preparation of mental content that later affects performance on related tasks — and in the illusion-of-truth effect, where statements previously encountered feel more credible regardless of their accuracy.
In daily life, implicit memory carries skill: how to tie a shoe, ride a bike, type without watching the keys. Research from Schacter, Graf, Mandler, and Ullman established it as operating through neural circuits distinct from those of explicit memory, which is why amnesic patients can lose the ability to recall events while retaining intact motor skills.