Theories Cognitive Psychology Procedural Memory and Performing Daily Actions By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial process Kendra Cherry Fact checked by Fact checked by Shereen Lehman, MS on May 10, 2020 Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig). Learn about our editorial process Shereen Lehman, MS on May 10, 2020 Print Ryoko Uyama/ Photodisc/Getty Images Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory involving how to perform different actions and skills. Essentially, it is the memory of how to do certain things. Riding a bike, tying your shoes, and cooking an omelet are all examples of procedural memories. A Closer Look at Procedural Memory Procedural memories start to form very early in life as you begin to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and play. These memories become so ingrained that they are almost automatic. You do not need to consciously think about how to perform these motor skills; you simply do them without much, if any, thought. While it is easy to demonstrate these actions, explaining how and where you learned them can be much more difficult. In many cases, you learn these skills during early childhood. Learning how to walk is one great example. Once this action is learned, you do not need to consciously remind yourself of how the process works. Your procedural memory takes over and allows you to perform the skill without thinking about it. For activities like learning how to drive or to ride a bike, you simply practice them so often that they become ingrained. Examples of Procedural Memory You use procedural memory for these actions:Writing with a penTyping on a keyboardPlaying basketballPlaying pianoSwimmingWalking How Procedural Memories Are Formed Procedural memories form when connections are made between synapses, gaps at the end of a neuron that allows signals to pass. The more frequently an action is performed, the more often signals are sent through those same synapses. Over time, these synaptic routes become stronger and the actions themselves become unconscious and automatic. A number of brain structures are associated with the formation and maintenance of procedural memories. The cerebellum, for example, is associated with coordinating movements and fine motor skills required for many activities such as drawing, painting, playing a musical instrument, writing, and sculpting. The limbic system, another area of the brain, is also known for coordinating many processes involved in memory and learning. The Difference Between Procedural Memory and Declarative Memory Procedural memory is considered a type of implicit memory. Implicit memories are those that form without effort. When the lyrics to a popular song get stuck in your head, that's an example of implicit memory at work. You haven’t expended any effort to learn the lyrics and melody of the song. Simply hearing it in the background as you go about your day leads to the formation of implicit memory. Declarative memories, on the other hand, are things that you intentionally remember and that require conscious effort to bring into memory. Also known as explicit memory, this type of memory involves things such as remembering information for a test, that you have a dentist appointment and your home address. Procedural memories are often difficult to explain. If someone asked you how you drive a car or ride a bike, you might struggle to put it into words. If they asked you how to drive to your house, however, you would probably be able to articulate the route fairly easily. Remembering the physical process of how to do something (like drive a car) is a procedural memory while remembering the route you have to take to get somewhere is a declarative memory. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Lum JA, Conti-Ramsden G, Page D, Ullman MT. Working, declarative and procedural memory in specific language impairment. Cortex. 2012;48(9):1138–1154. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2011.06.001 Hine K, Tsushima Y. Not explicit but implicit memory is influenced by individual perception style. PLoS One. 2018;13(1):e0191654. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191654