Cognitive: Types of LTM (Tulving, 1972) Flashcards
What’s Tulving’s research based on?
Based on the Multi-Store Model idea of LTM, but suggsts there’s a difference between episodic memory (e.g. remembering a family holiday at Disneyland Florida) and general memory (e.g. knowing Disneyland is in Florida).
What are the 2 different types of LTM?
- Procedual Memory
- Declarative Memory
What is Procedural Memory?
The memory of how to do things, e.g. tying shoelaces, writing, tapping in your banking PIN and using a knife and fork. You may retain procedural memories even after youv’e forgotten being taught to do these things in the first place.
What is Declarative memory?
Memory of meaningful events. You might remember being taught to play the guitar, even if you forgotten how to play it.
What 2 sub-types are declarative memory split into?
- Episodic Memory
- Semantic Memory
What is Episodic memory?
The memory of particular events and specific information: events, names and dates. It includes memories of things that have happened to you and information like a person’s address.
How are episodic memories encoded?
Perceptually encoded - linked to the 5 sense which is why they can be triggered (“cued”) by a sight or a sound or smell.
What is Semantic memory?
Memory of relationships and how things fit together. It includes the memory that you have brothers or sisters, where things are located and what they do.
Why is semantic memory needed for language?
Because words have meaning - learning words in the first place involves episodic memory but once they are learned they go into the semantic store.
Using ELA, evaluate Tulving.
Evidence:
- CW - but unique (para 1)
- Baddeley - internal valid but not ecological (para 2)
Applications:
- Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (para 3)
How does Clive Wearing provide evidence for Tulving’s theory?
Musician who suffered brain damage from a viral infection (1985). Suffered almost complete amnesia, and lost ability to encode new long term memories. Forgets everything within 30 seconds and is “always coming into consciousness”.
Lost episodic memory, but still has semantic memory (must be separate) - has semantic knowledge of his wife Deborah: he remembers he loves her.
He can’t remember names or ages of his children, but knows hes a father and has children.
Has his procedural memory: can play piano and conduct choir - although can’t remember musical education, and as soon as the music stops he forgot he was performing and suffers a shaking fit.
What is a con of CW as a peice of evidence?
Case study is unique and his condition may be 1 of a kind. This his evidence may not be representative of the general population, therefore is weak evidence for the theory. This reduces the usefulness of Tulvings theory for society.
What are the pros and cons of Baddeley’s study as evidence for the theory?
- Found P’s struggled with word lists linked by a common theme - suggests semantic similarity confused LTM. Unrelated word lists were not confused which suggests LTM work semantically.
- Supports tulving’s ideas. ✅
However:
- Baddeley’s study took place in the “Applied Research Unit of Cambridge University” which is a controlled environment. This limited the impact of extraneous variables which may occur in real life scenarios (lacks mundane realism) which will affect the results.
- Therefore, study lacks ecological validity which makes the theory seem weaker and less accurate.
What are the applications of Tulving?
Distinction between semantic and episodic memory can help to understand patient with amnesia like CW or people with early stages of dementia: despite being confused by amnesia, they might remember relationships and meanings which can be used to calm and focus them - showing patients meaningful things and getting them to talk about meaning can be a type of cognitive stimulation therapy (e.g. getting them to talk about how familiar songs or activities make them feel).
