long term memory Flashcards
what was wrong with the MSM and what did tulving propose
A major limitation of the MSM is its description of LTM as a single,unitary store.Endel Tulving (1985) proposed the idea that there are three LTM stores:episodic memory,semantic memory,procedural memory.
describe episodic memory
-A long term memory store of personal events e.g a diary.It retains memories of when events occurred and of the people,objects,places and behaviours involved.
Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
-it also refers to our ability to recall events from our lives.-memories are ‘time-stamped’
describe semantic memory
A long term memory store for our knowledge of the worlds e.g facts,meaning of words,what concepts mean.These memories need to be recalled deliberately.memories aren’t ‘time-stamped’
Semantic knowledge is less personal ,it is a large collection of material which is constantly being added to.
describe procedural memory
A long term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things, including our memories of learned skills.
These memories can be recalled without making a conscious or deliberate effort.
evaluation: clinical evidence
HM and clive wearing
HM and clive wearing :
Their episodic memory was severely impaired due to amnesia.They struggle recalling past events but their semantic memory was somewhat unaffected e.g they still understood the meaning of words.Their procedural memories were also intact e.g they knew how to read.
how does HM and clive wearing case study support LTM
This evidence supports Tulving’s view about the different types of memory store in the LTM as when one store is damaged the others are unaffected,which also shows that they are stored in different parts of the brain.However clinical studies lack control of variables.
evaluation: strength
neuroimaging evidence
there is evidence from brain scan studies that the different types of memory are stored in different parts of the brain.Tulving et al got their participants to complete memory tasks as their brains were being scanned using a PET scanner.It showed that episodic and semantic memories were both recalled from an area called the prefrontal cortex which is divided into two (left and right hemisphere).left -semantic memories.right-episodic memories.
evaluation: strength
real life applications
-Belleville et al studied how episodic memories could be improved in older people who had a mild cognitive impairment.Trained participants performed better in a test compared to a control group.
evaluation: weakness
declarative memory
Cohen and Squire(1980) disagree with the division of the LTM into three types.They argued that episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one LTM store (declarative memory).
