Types of long term memory Flashcards
What are semantic memories?
Knowledge of the world (facts)
What are episodic memories?
Events or episodes from our lives or that we’ve heard from another source
What are procedural memories?
Actions or skills
Which types of LTM are declarative?
Semantic and Episodic
Which types of LTM are non-declarative?
Procedural
What did Tulving do to investigate types of LTM?
Tulving injected himself with particles of radioactive gold that he could use to track brain blood flow in a scanner. He scanned his brain whilst he thought about historical facts or his childhood experiences. He found that when he was thinking about historical facts blood flow increased at the back of his brain, whereas when he thought about childhood experiences blood flow increased at the front of his brain.
How does Clive Wearing support the idea that there are different types of LTM?
Because he can still remember how to play the piano, the procedural part of memory, but not much from his episodic or semantic memory (e.g. he knows he has children but does not know their names). He also can’t make new memories. Therefore, this shows there are different parts to our LTM
How can Clive Wearings case be criticised?
Can’t be generalised as it is a unique case study
How can understanding different types of LTM have practical applications?
It allows psychologists to help people with memory problems as distinguishing between types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed.
What did Buckner & Peterson find in relation to types of LTM?
They reviewed evidence regarding the location of semantic and episodic memory. They concluded that semantic memory is located in the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic memory is on the right. However, other research links the left prefrontal cortex with episodic memories and the right prefrontal cortex with semantic memories (Tulving et al, 1994).
