Long term memory Flashcards
Long term memory
the relatively permanent memory store that holds vast amounts of information for a long period of time
How are long term memories accessed?
using retrieval cues
Intentional memory retrieval: what is your mothers maiden name
Unintentional memory retrieval: is there a song that reminds you of an event that took place in your life
Capacity of LTM
unlimited for life
How is information stored in LTM
semantically - according to its meaning
How is LTM organised?
a sequential and ordered manner
in clusters, groups or categories
In links and associations
Why may information be hard to retrieve in LTM?
- poor quality organisation, encoding or storage of the information in the first place
- failure to use an appropriate retrieval cue to access the memory
Declarative memory
memory of specific facts or events
expressed as words or symbols
episodic memory
memory of life events, autobiographical
“i remember when…”
very vivid memories are termed
- we can recall exactly what you were doing and when you were when a particularly important, exciting or emotional even happened
more easily forgotten than semantic memories
semantic memory
information we have about the world
immune from forgetting
“i know that…”
Explicit memory
involves memory that occurs when information can be consciously or intentionally retrieved and stated
Implicit memory
involves memory that does not require conscious or intentional retrieved and stated
People find it difficult to state or describe in words what is being remembered, but the memory can be expressed through behaviour
Procedural memory
Memory of how to do something, actions and skills, can be physical or intellectual learned by conditioning and practice
resistant to forgetting (unlikely to forget)
resistant to brain damage
