EXPRESS: Autobiographical processing primes semantic memory production on the category exemplar generation task: The role of self-referential processing

Research has shown that the recall of autobiographical memories primes semantic memory retrieval on conceptual implicit memory tasks (e.g., category exemplar generation). It has been argued that such autobiographical-to-semantic memory priming reflects the functional/interactive nature of autobiographical and semantic memory. In this study, we examined how the activation of self-knowledge, an abstract form of autobiographical memory, facilitated semantic memory retrieval on a category exemplar generation task. In Experiment 1, participants in a self-reference condition judged how words might be related to themselves (e.g., jazz, etc.), and in a semantic processing condition they made word familiarity judgements (e.g., broccoli, etc.). They were then given a category exemplar generation task (e.g., name types of music, vegetables, etc.). The results of this experiment showed that self-knowledge processing led to significant priming on the generation task, and priming from this process did not differ from priming from semantic processing. Experiment 2 replicated these findings along with an added event recall condition, which did not differ from the other processing conditions. Experiment 3 replicated the findings of Experiment 2 with a depth of processing manipulation. It is argued that the results support the notion that the activation of abstract autobiographical knowledge can facilitate semantic processing.