Dimensional Implicit Memory Priming Deficits in Young ADHD Adults

Abstract

The experiment explored the difference between production and identification processes and conceptual and perceptual processes in long-term implicit memory. The first phase consisted of prescreening ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and non- ADHD Texas A&M undergraduate students. The second phase consisted of a study task and a filler task. The third phase consisted of four tests containing two of the four processes. The participants performed a category verification test (conceptualidentification cross), category generation test (conceptual-production cross), a flashing words test (perceptual-identification cross), and a stem completion test (perceptualproduction cross). No statistically significant difference in priming was found between ADHD and non-ADHD. However, looking at the sample as a whole (ADHD and non- ADHD combine), there was significant priming in the category generation test, flashing words test, and the stem completion test but not in the category verification test.