Tulving long-term memory model of memory, (CP) Flashcards
What is tulving’s LTM model?
Tulving developed his understanding of Long-term memory in response to the Multi-store Model, suggesting that this model did not represent the full complexity of LTM.
He proposed that LTM could be divided into episodic memory (remembered experiences) and semantic memory (remembered facts). Tulving suggested that these stores were different in the way they stored memories, time referencing, the way they make associations between memories and the way they are retrieved.
Explain the nature of memory in terms of episodic and semantic memory
Episodic:
- a mental diary which stores memories in an autobiographical way linked to time and context of an individual’s life.
- E.g. if you have been to South Africa in the summer, you will know that it is hot because you will remember the sun shining, going to the beach and drinking lots of water.
Semantic:
- a mental encyclopaedia storing words, facts, rules, meanings and concepts as an organised body of knowledge. The memories are associated with other facts that link the concepts together (eg school and learning) but there is no autobiographical association.
- E.g. if you have never been to South Africa in the summer, but know that it is hot, you are using semantic storage
Explain time referencing in terms of episodic and semantic memory
Episodic:
- memories of events that have happened to you are linked to the time in which they occurred.
- E.g. remembering your first day at school will be linked to the date this occurred, you will remember how old you were, where your school was, who your teacher was etc
Semantic
- is detached from any temporal link ie you can recall this information without reference to when it was learned
- E.g. you can recall that an adjective describes a noun without remembering where and when you learned this.
Explain spatial referencing in terms of episodic and semantic memory
Episodic:
- input into episodic memory is continuous as we experience a whole episode in a temporal frame of reference.
- E.g. the memory of a birthday party contains experiences over a period of time and within a particular time-frame.
Semantic:
- input in a fragmented way. We can piece together factual information which has been learned at different times.
- E.g. you may learn that Henry the VIII had six wives and then later learn about each wife and what happened to her. You can store these pieces of information independently and then piece them together later in order to understand more about this period in British history.
Explain retrieval in terms of episodic and semantic memory
Episodic:
- recall is dependent on the context in which the event was learned or experienced. The context aids the retrieval of the memory.
- E.g. if you learn information in one setting, you will find it easier to recall in the same setting – this tells us that episodic memory is more autobiographical, ie it is stored with other relevant information. Episodic memory is also susceptible to transformation, the memories can change whilst being recalled as the memory can be interfered with.
Semantic:
- recall is not dependent on context of learning, it is based on inferences, generalisation and logical thought. Semantic memory is not affected by retrieval, the factual information remains unchanged.
Summary of episodic and semantic memory. Nature, time, spatial, retrieval + forgetting
Episodic:
- Nature = Mental diary
- Time = events that have happened to you that are liked to the time occurred. Time concept happened
- Spatial = continuous, whole episodes are input at one time
- Retrieval + forgetting = retrieval using cues which are encoded at the point of learning. Forgetting due to retrieval cue failure. Memory trace can be transformed/changed
Semantic:
- Nature = remembers the facts, words, rules, meanings and concepts. No autobiographical association
- Time = independent of time referencing
- Spatial = fragmented, input at different times and then put together later
- Retrieval + forgetting = retrieve possible without learning context (not cued retrieval) memory trace is more robust and less susceptible to transformation
Evaluate a strength of Tulving’s LTM model (with counter argument)
I - There is supportive evidence from brain damaged patients which supports Tulving’s idea that there are two separate stores in the LTM.
J - KF suffered brain damage after a motorbike accident, and this left him unable to form or recall memories from personal events in his life (episodic). However, he was able to recall factual information (semantic).
E - This case study supports the idea of separate long-term stores, but also indicates that these may be stored in different regions of the brain giving avenues for further research.
Counter Argument - However, such case studies involve individuals with very unique brain injuries and circumstances. These differences in the nature of how their brains function may make it more difficult to apply findings on memory based on them to other individuals who have not suffered the same injuries.
Evaluate a weakness of Tulving’s LTM model (with counter argument)
I - Clive Wearing and HM’s case studies provide contradictory evidence to Tulving’s LTM model, suggesting the division to just episodic and semantic memory is too simplistic.
J - Whilst both men suffered damage to their memory, they were still able to use certain types of long-term memories as they were able to complete skills they had known how to do before their brain damage, such as signing their own name and playing the piano. These skills do not fit into episodic, nor semantic memory
E - This suggests that LTM may be more
complex than Tulving originally stated.
Counter argument - However, Tulving later amended the LTM model adding divisions for explicit/declarative memory which contained both the episodic and semantic memory stores, but also had a division for implicit/procedural memory which explained the retention of skills such as those observed in HM and Clive Wearing.
