Lesson 7: Types of Long-Term Memory Flashcards
What are the three types of Long-term memory?
- Episodic
- Semantic
- Procedural
What is EPISODIC memory?
your memory for EVENTS
e.g recollection of your first day of school, last birthday
What are the THREE elements of episodic memory
(HINT: specific, context, emotions)
- SPECIFIC details of the event
2.CONTEXT of the event - EMOTIONS you were feeling at the time
What part of the brain are episodic memories stored?
HIPPOCAMPUS
What is SEMANTIC memory?
memory for FACTS + general knowledge
What else may semantic memory relate to?
-functions of an object
-what behaviour is appropriate to use in a certain situation
-abstract concepts e.g mathematics and language
What do semantic memories begin as?
EPISODIC memories
Why do semantic memories begin as episodic?
we acquire knowledge based on PERSONAL experiences
How do episodic memories become SEMANTIC?
Memory loses its ASSOCIATION to a particular event and becomes GENERALISED
What part of the brain are semantic memories stored
TEMPORAL lobe
What is procedural memory
memory concerned with motor skills and actions
How are procedural memories acquired
acquired through REPETITION
Why are we less aware of procedural memories
they have become AUTOMATIC and UNAVAILABLE of conscious introspection
What happens if we think too much about procedural memories
prevents us from carrying them out.
e.g if you think too much about riding a bike it will cause you to lose your balance
Why is it important that procedural memories are AUTOMATIC
so we can focus our attention on other tasks whilst performing these everyday motor skills
Where are procedural memories stored?
in the CEREBELLUM
State one POSITIVE evaluation of LTM
(Hint: Amnesia)
Evidence for the distinction between EPISODIC/SEMANTIC and PROCEDURAL memory has come from research=patients with amnesia
Patients with amnesia= unable to store NEW episodic or semantic memories
HOWEVER, procedural memory=largely unaffected
State a POSITIVE evaluation of LTM
(Hint: brain scans+ recall)
Scientific evidence captured from brain scans SUPPORTS idea of DIFFERENT types of LTM.
E.g when asking patients to RECALL different types of information, different areas of the brain were shown to be active on an fMRI.
Episodic=hippocampus
Semantic= temporal lobe
Procedural= cerebellum
State a POSITIVE evaluation of LTM
(Hint: Clive wearing)
Case studies of brain damaged patients offer support for the different types of LTM.
e.g. Clive Wearing is a man who suffered from a viral infection which damaged his hippocampus
He has NO episodic memory and cannot form NEW semantic memories.
HOWEVER, his procedural memory is still intact (e.g. he can still play the piano)
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of LTM
(Hint: individual case studies)
Research into the different types of LTM have typically been conducted on INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS (e.g clive wearing and HM)
Although case studies are highly detailed and provide A LOT of information, they are ISOLATED CASES of one individual
It would be inappropriate to assume that everyone’s LTM is formed in the same way-> findings cannot be generalised to WIDER population
