L10 Long Term Memory

Question 1

Where is Long Term Memory (LTM) in the three-stage model of memory?

Answer 1

Question 2

Explain retrieval in relation to STM and LTM

Answer 2

Retrieval is the process of recovering information from LTM and bringing it back into STM

Question 3

What is dissociation deficit?

Answer 3

If an individual can perform normally on one task (A) but is impaired on a different task (B)

Question 4

What does dissociation deficit imply for understanding the relationship between LTM and STM?

Answer 4

That LTM and STM are two different functions.

(Some people can have impaired STM and functional LTM and vice versa)

Question 5

What surgery was performed on H.M? (Scoville & Millner, 1957)

Answer 5

Hippocampus removal to prevent epileptic seizures.

Question 6

What were the side-effects of H.M’s surgery?

Answer 6

Cured his epilepsy, but left him with memory loss (amnesia)

Question 7

What types of amnesia did H.M have after surgery?

Answer 7

Severe Anterograde Amnesia: He could not encode new memories that occurred after his operation.

Some temporally-graded Retrograde Amnesia: He couldn’t remember much from the period 1-2 years prior to his operation

Question 8

How was H.M’s STM/Working memory after his operation?

Answer 8

Completely normal.

Question 9

What does the H.M case study imply for the relationship between STM and LTM?

Answer 9

That those two systems are independent. There is a dissociation between STM and LTM

Question 10

What impairment did K.F have? (Shallice & Warrington, 1972)

Answer 10

She had an impaired STM and functioning LTM.

(Only had a digit span of two items, yet could store and recall new memories. She demonstrated primacy but not recency effects in studies).

Question 11

What is double-dissociation?

Answer 11

When two related mental processes are shown to function independently of each other.

Question 12

Are STM and LTM the same or different?

Answer 12

Different, they operate independently.

There is a double-dissociation between them as evidenced by H.M and K.F

Question 13

Research has shown that LTM deals with different information in different ways.

Describe the terms used for the two different types of LTM

Answer 13

1. The type of knowledge that is being stored
2. The way that this knowledge is expressed

Question 14

Describe the formula for LTM organisation in regards to the type of knowledge being stored.

Answer 14

Question 15

Describe the formula for LTM organisation in regards to the way knowledge is expressed.

Answer 15

Question 16

What is procedural memory in regards to the types of knowledge being stored?

Answer 16

Knowledge of our actions/skills/procedures

(e.g., tying shoelaces, riding a bike, typing etc.)

Question 17

What is declarative memory in regards to the types of knowledge being stored?

Answer 17

Our knowledge of facts and events

(e.g., capital cities, names of people you know, events of the day etc.)

Question 18

Could H.M learn either new procedural knowledge or new declarative knowledge?

Answer 18

He could learn procedural knowledge but not declarative knowledge.

(He could learn hard procedural tasks but not form memories of them)

Question 19

How do people with amnesia (amnesiac) differ in their learning curves when compared to normal participants?

Answer 19

Their learning curves are similar to normal participants.

Very little difference despite not being able to remember doing the task from one day to the next.

Question 20

How does dementia due to Huntington’s disease impact LTM?

Answer 20

They can remember doing the task repeatedly (declarative), but they show no improvement in the task over time (procedural).

Question 21

Does procedural and declarative LTM use the same cognition system?

Answer 21

No, there is a double dissociation between them.

Question 22

What are the two sub-divisions of declarative memory?

Answer 22

Semantic and Episodic

Question 23

What is Semantic Memory?

Answer 23

Our knowledge of facts about the world

(what is a dog, cat, knowing capital cities, lyrics to a song etc.)

Question 24

What is Episodic Memory?

Answer 24

Our knowledge of particular events

(E.g. what you did yesterday, what happened at a sporting game etc.)

Question 25

Is semantic memory and episodic memory use the same processes?

Answer 25

No, there is a double-dissociation between them.

Question 26

How was K.C affected by his brain damage?

Answer 26

He lost his ability to encode new episodic memories, but his semantic memory was largely unaffected.

He was aware that his brother had passed away (semantic) but had no memory of how he found this out or the funeral (episodic)

Question 27

How was the Italian woman with brain damage caused by encephalitis (DeRenzi et al) affected by the brain damage?

Answer 27

Her semantic memory was impaired but not her episodic memory.

• She was unable to recall simple facts like the meaning of words or if Italy was involved in WW2 (semantic).*
• However, she was able to remember facts about her life, like what she had done that day, or a week or month ago (episodic).*

Question 28

Although there is a double-dissociation between episodic and semantic memories, how are they connected?

Answer 28

You experience events that are stored in your memory (episodic) but in those experiences, you learn semantic facts. Over time you may forget about the event (how you learned it) and just retain the information.

Question 29

What is pragmatic inference?

Answer 29

When we replace or add words to a sentence so that they make more sense.

Question 30

When does pragmatic inference occur?

What is it based on?

Answer 30

When someone reads a sentence which leads them to expect or believe in something that was not explicitly stated.

They are based upon our prior knowledge.

Question 31

Why was the same story but with a different title (deer hunter and the other escaped convict) recalled differently?

What is this an example of?

Answer 31

The re-telling of the story was based on the participant’s expectations which lead them to insert details relating to those themes. Their prior knowledge interfered with either the storage or retrieval process.

This is an example of pragmatic inference

Question 32

Why does pragmatic inference happen?

Answer 32

We cannot take every small detail in, we need to be able to make mental short-cuts so that it is easier to survive and we are not overwhelmed with information. Therefore we can save cognitive space for important information.

Question 33

Is memory reproductive or reconstructive?

What does this mean?

Answer 33

It is reconstructive

We do not reproduce a true, perfect copy of information. We reconstruct the information based upon the original source plus our prior expectations and knowledge.