memory- LTM types

Question 1

what are the three stores of LTM?

Answer 1

-episodic
-semantic
-procedural

Question 2

what does LTM store 1 (episodic memory) store?

Answer 2

-events (episodes) from our lives
-a diary of daily personal experiences

Question 3

how are episodic memories complex?

Answer 3

-time-stamped, you remember when they happened and how they relate in time
-involve several elements- people, places, objects and behaviours are woven into one memory
-make a conscious effort to recall them

Question 4

what does LTM store 2 (semantic memory) store?

Answer 4

-info about the world
-combination of an encyclopaedia and a dictionary
-includes knowledge of such as how to apply to uni, meaning of words, etc

Question 5

are semantic memories time stamped? how do they differ from episodic memories?

Answer 5

-not time-stamped
-less personal than episodic and more about facts/knowledge we all share

Question 6

what does LTM store 3 (procedural memory) store?

Answer 6

-memories for actions and skills
-how we do things
-i.e. driving a car, riding a bike

Question 7

how do we recall procedural memories?

Answer 7

-recall occurs without awareness or effort
-skills/actions become automatic with practice
-explaining step-by-step procedure hard as you do it w/o conscious recall

Question 8

ao3 for LTM types- case study evidence for different types of LTM

Answer 8

-clinical studies of amnesia (HM and Clive Wearing) showed both had difficulty recalling events that happened to them in their pasts (episodic memory).
-semantic memories still relatively unaffected (HM didn’t need concept of dog explaining to him). procedural memories also intact (Clive could still play the piano)
-supports view that there are different memory sorts in LTM as one store can be damaged but others unaffected

Question 9

ao3 for LTM types- counterpoint for case study evidence for different types of LTM

Answer 9

-researchers lack of control in clinical case studies
-don’t know anything about person’s memory before brain damage
-so limited in what they can tell us about different types of LTM

Question 10

ao3 for LTM types- conflicting findings about types of LTM and brain areas

Answer 10

-Buckner and Petersen (1996) reviewed research findings and concluded semantic memory located in left prefrontal cortex with episodic in the right prefrontal cortex
-other studies (Tulving et al. 1994) have found semantic memory was associated w/ the right prefrontal cortex and the reverse for episodic
-challenges any neuropsychological evidence to support types of memory as theres poor agreement on where each type might be located

Question 11

ao3 for LTM types- helping people with memory problems

Answer 11

-memory loss in old age is specific to episodic memory- its harder to recall memories of past experiences although past episodic memories are intact
-Belleville et al. (2006) devised an intervention for older people targeting episodic memory, which improved their memory compared to a control group
-shows that distinguishing between types of LTM allows for specific treatments to be developed