Types of long - term memory Flashcards
who came up with the three types of long term memory
Tulving
episodic memory
A long term memory store for personal events. It includes when the events occurred, people,objects,places and behaviors involved. memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously
semantic memory
a long term memory store for facts,definition, and knowledge that we accumulate over our lifetime, it can include factual information about our own lives.These memories usually need to be recalled deliberately
procedural memory
A long term memory store for learned skills and actions.Does not need deliberate or conscious effort to recall these memories.
evaluation: strength of Tulving’s view (clinical evidence)
The cases of HM and Clive Wearing. Episodic memory for both men was severely impaired due to amnesia.They found it difficult to recall past events,however their semantic memory was still unaffected.e.g they still understood the meanings of words.Their procedural memories were still intact e.g they were able to walk,talk and Clive was still able to play the piano.This evidence supports Tulving’s view that there are different memory stores in LTM.One store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected.This is clear evidence that not only are there different types of LTM,but that they are stored in different parts of the brain.However the evidence is based on unique case studies of brain damage individuals.Therefore the research isn’t strong support for the different types of LTM.
evaluation: strength of Tulving’s view (Neuroimaging evidence)
There is neuroimaging evidence from brain scan studies show that different types of memory are stored in different parts of the brain.Tulving et al got their participants to perform various tasks while their brains were scanned using a PET scanner.They found that episodic and semantic memories were both recalled from the prefrontal cortex.The left prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling semantic memories.The right prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling episodic memories.This supports the view that there is a physical reality to the different types of LTM within the brain.It also has been confirmed many times in later research studies,further supporting the validity of this finding
evaluation:strength -real life application
being able to identify different aspects of LTM allows psychologists to target certain kinds of memory in order to better people’s lives.Belleville et al demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in order people who had a mild cognitive impairment.The trained participants performed better on a test of episodic memory than a control group.Episodic memory is the type of memory most affected by mild cognitive impairments,which highlights the benefit of being able to distinguish between types of LTM-it enables specific treatments to be developed,supporting the external validity of the theory.
evaluation:weakness -conflicting evidence that undermines the stores
Cohen and Squire disagree with Tulving’s division of LTM into three types.They accept that procedural memories represent one type of LTM,but they argue that episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one LTM that they call declarative memories(memories that can be consciously recalled).procedural memories are non declarative).This is a weakness as it’s important to get these distinctions right so that any treatments that are developed are effective and the theory is valid(differences between the types of LTM)
episodic memory factors
memories of life events
can be expressed verbally (recalled with conscious effort)
time - stamped
less resistance to amnesia
semantic memory factors
memories of knowledge of the world
can be expressed verbally (recalled with conscious effort)
not time stamped
may be less resistance to amnesia/forgetting
procedural memory factors
-memories of how to do things
-different to explain verbally(recall without conscious awareness
-not time - stamped
may be more resistant to amnesia/forgetting
