MEM 07 - Types of LTM

Question 1

What are the 3 different LTM stores?

Answer 1

• Episodic memory
• Semantic memory
• Procedural memory

Question 2

Who proposed that we have different LTM stores?

Answer 2

Endel Tulving (1985)

Question 3

What is declarative memory?

Answer 3

Explicit information you consciously work to remember

Question 4

What is non-declaritive memory?

Answer 4

Implicit information you remember effortless and unconsciously

Question 5

What is semantic memory?

Answer 5

• It stores our knowledge of the world (it has been referred to as an encyclopedia and a dictornary)
• This includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean
• These memories aren’t timestamped
• It is less personal and more about facts we all share
• It is less vulnerable to distoration and forgetting than the episodic memory
• These memories need to be recalled deliberately

Question 6

What is episodic memory?

Answer 6

• An LTM store for personal events and experiences
• It includes memories of when events occured, what occured and of other people, objects, places and behaviours involved
• Stores information about how events relate to each other in time
• Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort
• It is autobiographical

Question 7

What is procedural memory?

Answer 7

• It stores our knowledge of how we do things (actions or skills)
• Our ability to do these skills/actions becomes automatic in practice
• We recall these memories without a conscious or deliberate effort

Question 8

What case studies provide evidence for the types of LTM?

Answer 8

• HM
• Clive Wearing

Question 9

What was the case study of Clive Wearing?

Answer 9

• He had memory issues due to a viral infection in his brain which caused him to forget personal experiences/individuals such as his children and other events in his life etc however he could remember his wife
• When his wife enters the room, he greets her joyously believing he hasn’t seen her for years.
• However, he also remembered how to play the piano and conduct a choir but could not remember his musical education

Question 10

What types of Clive Wearing’s LTMs were affected?

Answer 10

• He lost his episodic memory; however, his procedural memory remained intact (e.g. he was able to dress himself, play the piano, conduct a choir and his motor skills were still functional)
• Although he had no episodic memories of his wife, he had semantic knowledge of her (he knew that he loved her)

Question 11

What types of HM’s LTMs were affected?

Answer 11

• His semantic memory was relatively unaffected (understood the meaning of words and concepts)
• This links to episodic memory as he could recall childhood memories but could not form new memories of experiences
• His procedural memory was intact as his motor skills were still functional

Question 12

What is the methodological issue with case study of HM and Clive Wearing?

Answer 12

• It has poor population validity because it cannot be used to generalise the wider population because both their conditions are rare
• It cannot be replicated due to ethical reasons
• We don’t know if they had any other neurological issues, researchers have no knowledge of their memories before the seizure/viral infection so can’t judge how much worse it has become decreasing the internal validity and limits how much the studies can tell us about LTM
• An issue with the case study of both Clive wearing and HM is that they lack control of variables as the brain injuries experience by participants were usually unexpected
• The researchers had no way of controlling what happened to the participant before or during the injury

Question 13

What does applications do the types of LTM have to real life?

Answer 13

• Understanding types of LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems
• The fact that it is possible to improve one type of LTM rather than another, argues in favour of existing different types of memory (this was shown through Sylvie Belleville et al in 2006 who devised an intervention to improve episodic memory in older individuals)
• The benefit of identifying different types of LTM shows that we can help individuals with specific memory problems improve their memory which in turn allows them to lead more normal lives as they grow old
• This shows that by distinguishing between the different types of LTM it enables us to formulate specific treatments for those individuals