Types of long term memory Flashcards
Define episodic memory
A long term memory store for personal events that took place at a specific place in time. Memories from this this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
Define procedural memory
A long term memory store for action-based memory (for our knowledge on how to do things). Memories from this store can usually be recalled without making a concious effort.
Define semantic memory
A long term memory store for meaningful information about the world. Memory from this store need to be recalled with a concious effort.
Who discovered the different types of LTM memory and why?
Tulving was one of the first cognitive psychologists to realise that the MMS’s view of LTM was too simplistic and inflexible. He proposed that there were three LTM stores: episodic memory, sematic memory and procedural memory.
What are the evaluations of the Types of LTM
Evidence from the famous case studies of HM and Clive Wearing, (counterpoint) But clinical studies are not perfect and they lack a control of variables, conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain.
Evaluation: Evidence from the famous case studies of HM and Clive Wearing.
One strength is evidence from the famous case studies of HM and Clive Wearing. Episodic memory in both men was severely impaired due to brain damage but their semantic memories were relatively unaffected. They still understood the meaning of words. For example HM could not recall stroking a dog half an hour ago but he didn’t need to have the concept of ‘dog’ explained to him. Their procedural memories were also unaffected as they both still knew how to walk and speak and Clive Wearing still knew how to read music, sing and play the piano. This evidence supports that there are different memory stores in LTM - one store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected.
Evaluation - (counterpoint) Clinical trials are not perfect and they lack control of variables.
Studying people with brain injuries can hekp researchers to understand how memory is supposed to work normally. But clinical trials are not perfect and lack control of variables. The injuries experienced by participants were unexpected and the researcher had no way of controlling what happened before or during the injury. The researcher has no knowledge of the participants memory before the damage and without this its difficult to judge how much worse it is afterwards. This lack of control limits what clinical trials can tell us about types of LTM.
Evaluation: there are conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain.
One limitation is that there are conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain. For example Buckner and Petersen reieved evidence regarding the location of semantic and episodic memory. They concluded that sematic memory is located on the left side of prefrontal cortex and episodic memory is located on the right. However other research sugguests that episodic memory is on the left of the preforntal cortex and semantic memory is on the right. This challengs neurophysiological evidence to support types of memory as there is poor agreement on where each type might be located.
