Memory: Long Term Memory (L7-9)

Question 1

What are the types of LTM?

Answer 1

• episodic
• semantic
• procedural

Question 2

What is episodic memory?

Answer 2

• your memory for events
• for example your recollection of
  your first day of school, a family holiday, your last birthday etc.
• have three elements, specific details of the event, the context of the
  event, and the emotions you were feeling at the time of the event

Question 3

Where are episodic memories stored?

Answer 3

• hippocampus

Question 4

What is semantic memory?

Answer 4

• your memory for facts and general knowledge about the world
• for example that the capital of England is London and that 2 + 2 = 4
• may also relate to things such as the functions of an object, what behaviour is appropriate in a certain situation, as well as abstract concepts
• such as mathematics and language

Question 5

How do semantic memories begin?

Answer 5

• memories begin as episodic
  memories as knowledge is acquired based on personal experiences
• gradual transition from episodic memory to semantic memory when memory slowly loses its association to particular events and is generalised
• sometimes people can have a strong recollection of when and where they learned a particular fact

Question 6

Where are semantic memories stored?

Answer 6

• temporal lobe

Question 7

What is procedural memory?

Answer 7

• procedural memory (sometimes called muscle memory) is concerned with motor skills and actions
• such as knowing how to tie your shoelaces, knowing how to
  drive, or knowing how to read
• typically acquired through practise and repetition and seem to be more resistant to forgetting or amnesia than other types of LTM
• we are less aware of procedural memories as they have become automatic and are unavailable for conscious inspection (unlike episodic memories and semantic memories) making it difficult to explain them verbally
• is important that procedural memories are automatic so that we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills

Question 8

What happens if you think too much about procedural memories?

Answer 8

• if you think too much about procedural memories it prevents you from carrying them out
• e.g. if you really think about what
  you are doing while riding a bike, you will probably lose your balance
• is important that procedural memories are automatic so that we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills

Question 9

Where are procedural memories stored?

Answer 9

• cerebellum

Question 10

Evaluation of LTM +ve:

Answer 10

• evidence for the distinction between episodic/semantic and procedural
  memory has come from research on patients with amnesia
• typically patients with amnesia are unable to store new episodic or semantic memories but their
  procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected
  = Scientific evidence captured from brain scans supports the view that there
  are different types of LTM
  = e.g. when asking participants to recall
  different types of information, different areas of the brain are shown to be
  active on an fMRI
  = episodic memories are associated with the hippocampus, semantic memories are associated with the temporal lobe and procedural memories are associated with the cerebellum
• cs of brain damaged patients offer support for the different types
  of LTM
• Clive Wearing suffered from a viral
  infection, damaged his hippocampus
• he has no episodic memory + can’t form new semantic memories
• but his procedural memory is intact, he can still play the piano

Question 11

Evaluation of LTM -ve:

Answer 11

• research into different types of LTM have been conducted on
  individual patients like Clive Wearing and HM
• cs highly detailed + provide lots of info but are isolated cases of one individual
• inappropriate to assume that everyone’s’ LTM is formed in the same
  way
• findings cannot be generalised to the wider population.

Question 12

What is forgetting?

Answer 12

• a person’s loss of ability to recall or
  recognise something that they have previously learned

Question 13

What are the 2 theories to forgetting?

Answer 13

• interference theory
• retrieval failure

Question 14

What is the interference theory?

Answer 14

• claims that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory
• more likely to occur when the two
  lots of information are similar to one another
• less likely to occur
  when there is a gap between the instances of learning

Question 15

What are the 2 types of interference?

Answer 15

• retroactive, when new learning affects the recall of old info
• proactive, when old learning affects the recall of new info

Question 16

Evaluation of Interference Theory +ve:

Answer 16

• Keppel and Underwood (1962) investigated proactive interference
• P’s presented with meaningless three-letter consonant trigrams at different intervals (3, 6, 9, seconds etc.)
• P had to count backwards in threes before recall to prevent rehearsal
• P remembered the trigrams that were presented first
• Keppel and Underwood concluded that the memory for earlier trigrams was
  interfering with the memory for later trigrams
  = McGeoch and McDonald (1931) demonstrated retroactive interference
  = gave p lists of words that they had to learn until they could recall with 100% accuracy
  = P then learned a new list, was either synonyms or antonyms
  = P then asked to remember og list
  = P given list of synonyms had worst recall of og list
  = learning a second list of words that have similar meanings to the first list of words would cause retroactive interference
• theory has practical applications
• students should be made aware of this theory so that they do not attempt to revise similar content/subjects at the
  same time, as this will make interference more likely to occur

Question 17

Evaluation of Interference Theory -ve:

Answer 17

• when interference occurs the loss of information may only be temporary
• therefore interference is not a true explanation for forgetting as info is not actually over-written and still in LTM
  = some psychologists argue that retrieval failure is a much better explanation of forgetting in everyday life than interference
  = this theory states that we forget when there are not enough retrieval cues to help us remember
  = Godden and Baddeley (1975) got divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater
  = results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues in the environment to help them remember the words

Question 18

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 18

• argues that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate
  retrieval cues
• when info initially placed in memory, data associated
  with this information is stored at the same time
• if these retrieval cues are
  not available at the time of recall, may seem as if you have
  forgotten the information when in fact you just cannot access it at that time
• some linked to material that needs to be remembered in meaningful way, e.g. anagram ‘STM’ can help recall info about short term mem
• other cues coded at the same time of learning, not in meaningful way

Question 19

What are the 2 types of retrieval cues?

Answer 19

• context
• state

Question 20

What are context cues?

Answer 20

• environment in which material is learnt can act as a retrieval cues
• means that if you recall info in same environment that you learned it ,e.g. the same classroom, then your recall will be better
• if you are not in the
  same context at retrieval as you were at coding then forgetting can occur

Question 21

What are state cues?

Answer 21

• individual’s physical state, e.g. mood, can affect their recall
• research studies suggest that recall is facilitated if people have a similar physical state at recall as when the info was coded
• if you’re not in the same physical
  state at recall as you were when you learned the info then you might fail to access the info

Question 22

Evaluation of Retrieval Failure +ve:

Answer 22

• Abernethy (1940) demonstrated the importance of context-dependent cues
• they tested participants’ recall using a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar
  instructors and teaching rooms
• P tested by a familiar instructor in a
  familiar room, performed the best
• as the instructor and room acted as
  retrieval cues
  = Godden and Baddeley (1975) also demonstrated the importance of context dependent cues
  = they asked divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater
  = results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues to help them
  remember the words
• Darley et al. (1973) showed the importance of state-dependent cues
• they found that p who hid money in a large warehouse while under the
  influence of cannabis were more likely to recall the hiding place when in ab similar drugged state
  = Retrieval Failure has practical applications
  = whenever possible students
  should learn/revise in the room, in which they will take their final exams

Question 23

Evaluation of Retrieval Failure -ve:

Answer 23

• Baddeley (1997) argues that the influence of retrieval cues is not actually very strong
• irl we often recall something in a different context to where we learnt it
• e.g, students do not often take their GCSE’s in the classroom where they learned the info they need for that exam