Types Of Long-Term Memory Flashcards
Endel Tulving (1985)
Proposed there are 3 LTM stores (episodic, semantic and procedural)
Episodic Memory
A LTM store for personal events
Includes memories of the people, objects, behaviours and places involved
Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort
Semantic Memory
A LTM store for our knowledge of the world
Includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean
Memories usually need to be recalled deliberately
Procedural Memory
A LTM store for our knowledge of how to do things
Includes memories of learned skills
Can usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort
Evaluation (STRENGTH) - Clinical Evidence
Case of HM (Henry Molaison) and Clive Wearing-
Episodic memory in both men were severely impaired as a consequence of amnesia
They had difficulty recalling events that happened to them in their past
Their semantic memories were relatively unaffected
Their procedural memories were also intact
Clive Wearing could still read music, sing and play the piano
Supports multiple LTM stores as one store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected
Evidence that the types of memory are different and are stored in different parts of the brain
Evaluation (STRENGTH) - Real-Life Application
Belleville et al (2006) -
Demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people who had mild cognitive impairment
Trained participant group performed better on a test of episodic memory than a control group
Highlights the benefit of being able to distinguish between different types of LTM as it enables specific treatments to be developed
Case of Clive Wearing
Suffers from severe amnesia due to damage to his hippocampus and associated areas
Before this Clive was a musician and can still play the piano and conduct a choir brilliantly but cannot remember his musical education
He knows he has children from an earlier marriage but cannot remember their names
He recognises his second wife Deborah and greets her joyously every time they meet as he thinks they have not seen each other in years
Evaluation (WEAKNESS) - Conflicting Neuroimaging Evidence
Conflicting research finding linking types of LTM to areas of the brain
Challenges any neurophysiological evidence to support types of memory as there is poor agreement on where types of memory are located
Tulving (1994) -
Links left prefrontal cortex with episodic memory and right prefrontal cortex with semantic memory
Evaluation (WEAKNESS) - Same or Different
Tulving 2002 -
Suggests episodic memory is a subcategory of semantic memory
He also concluded that it is not possible to have a functioning episodic memory with a damaged semantic memory
Hodges and Patterson (2007) -
Found that some people with Alzheimer’s disease could form new episodic memories but not semantic memories
Evaluation - Clinical Evidence (COUNTERPOINT)
Clinical studies are not perfect
Lacks control of variables
Researcher could not control what happened to the participant before or during the injury
Researcher has no knowledge of the participant’s memory before the damage
