Abstract

The point that priming and related phenomena of implicit memory should be considered functional and adaptive is made by several authors, notably by Bowers and Kouider and by Marsolek. Cognitive processes reflect highly evolved brain processes and mechanisms, and it is a very reasonable assumption that all cognitive processes act to improve the fit between organism and environment. A second general point is that the cognitive system is to be understood as a whole, not as a group of separate functions such as memory, perception, categorization, and so on. The various phenomena associated with priming fit very comfortably into this framework.