types of long-term memory Flashcards
what are the 3 stores of LTM
episodic, semantic, procedural
who proposed the 3 stores of LTM
Tulving
when were the 3 stores of LTM proposed
1985
why did Tulving propose the 3 LTM stores
realised the MSM view of LTM was too simplistic and inflexible
episodic memory definition
a long-term memory store for personal events. it includes memories of when the events occurs and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort
semantic memory definition
a long-term memory store for the knowledge of the world. this includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. these memories usually need to be recalled deliberately
procedural memory definition
a long-term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things. this includes our memories of learned skills. we usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort
what is episodic memory
our ability to recall events from our lives. this has been likened to a diary, an example is most recent visit to the dentist. these memories are complex. these memories are time stamped
episodic memory time
memories are time-stamped so you remember when they happened as well as what happened. they store information about how events relate to each other in time
episodic memory detail
includes several elements, such as people, places, objects and behaviours. all these memories are interwoven to produce a single memory
episodic memory recall
conscious effort to recall. you do this quickly, but are still aware that you are searching for a memory of what happened
what is semantic memory
contains shared knowledge of the world, it has been likened to a combination of an encyclopedia and a dictionary. contains knowledge of things such as how to apply to uni and what and orange tastes like, it also contains knowledge of concepts
semantic memory time
memories are no time-stamped
semantic knowledge details
less personal and more about facts we all share, contains a great collection of material which, given its nature is constantly being added to
distortion of episodic and semantic memories
tulving says the semantic memory is less vulnerable to distortion and forgetting than episodic memory
what is procedural memory
memory for our actions or skills ( basically how we do things), recall is easy but is difficult to learn for example driving a car
procedural memory recall
without conscious awareness or effort
learning procedural memory
difficult to learn but becomes automatic with practice
explaining a procedural memory
difficult to explain and becomes harder to do if you have to describe when doing a task
Clive Wearing cause of memory loss
severe from of amnesia which resulted from a viral infection in his brain, damaging hippocampus and effected associated areas
Clive Wearing piano -procedural memory
still has procedural memory as was previously a world-class musician and can still play piano and conduct a choir, however, he cannot remember his musical education
what can clive wearing not remember
musical education, children’s names
what can clive wearing remember
knows he has children, his wife
strength of types of long-term memory- clinical evidence
-evidence from case studies of HM and Clive Wearing
-both men had severely impaired episodic memory but semantic memories were relatively unaffected, they could still understand the meaning of words. procedural memories were still intact, wearing was a professional musician still knew how to play piano and both could walk and talk –>evidence supports Tulving’s theory that there a different stores in LTM as one store can be damaged and other stores unaffected
limitation long-term memory - counterpoint to clinical evidence
there is a lack of control variables as brain injuries in participants are unexpected the researcher has no way of controlling what happened to participant before or during the injury. the researcher also has no prior knowledge of participants memory before damage so does not know exactly how much worse memory is after –> lack of control limits what clinical studies can tell us about different types of LTM
limitation long-term memory- conflicting neuroimaging evidence
-conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain
-Buckner and Peterson (1996) reviewed evidence regarding location of semantic and episodic memory. it was concluded that semantic memory is located left of prefrontal cortex and episodic memory is on the right. however, other research links left prefrontal cortex with encoding of episodic memories and right with episodic retrival –> challenges and neurophysiological evidence to support types of memory as there is poor agreement on where each type might be located
strength long-term memory - real world application
-understanding of LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems
-for example as people age they experience memory loss, research has linked this to episodic memory as it becomes harder to recall memories of personal events that occurred recently although past episodic memories remain intact. Belleville et al devised an intervention to improve episodic memories in older people which showed better performance results of test of episodic memory after training a control group –> distinguishing between types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed
evaluation long-term memory -same or different
Tulving (2002) found episodic memory is a specilised subcategory of semantic memory. research showed its possible to have a functioning semantic memory alongside a damaged episodic memory but not possible to have functioning episodic memory alongside damaged semantic memory. however, Hodges and Patterson found some with Alzheimer’s could form new episodic memories but not semantic
