Types of Long-term Memory

Question 1

What did Tulving realise & propose in 1985?

Answer 1

• the multi-store model’s view on LTM was too simplistic
• he proposed that there are 3 LTM stores which each contain different types of information
• they are episodic, semantic & procedural memory

Question 2

What is episodic memory?

Answer 2

• long term memory store for personal events
• refers to our ability to recall events from our lives
• memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously & with effort
• these memories are ‘time-stamped’ which means you remember when they happened

Question 3

What is semantic memory?

Answer 3

• long term memory store for our knowledge of the world
• includes facts about our knowledge of what words & concepts mean
• these memories are usually not ‘time-stamped’
• semantic knowledge is less personal and more facts we all share
• it contains an immense collection of material which is constantly added to

Question 4

What is procedural memory?

Answer 4

• long term memory store on how to do things
• these can be recalled without much effort or conscious thought
• these skills may be difficult to explain to someone else e.g. changing the gear in a car
• trying to describe the task may make the task more difficult

Question 5

Evaluation: Clinical evidence

Answer 5

• cases of Molaison & Wearing both involve cases of men who had their episodic memory severely impaired as a result of amnesia
• they found it difficult recalling memories from the past but semantic memories were relatively unaffected
• HM had no memory of owning a dog in the past but understand what the concept of ‘dog’ meant
• Wearing still knew how to read, sing & play the piano
• this evidence supports Tulving’s view that there is more than one memory store in the LTM
• one store may be damaged but the others could be unaffected
• supports the idea that different types of memory are stored in different parts of the brain

Question 6

Evaluation: Neuroimaging evidence

Answer 6

• evidence from brain scan studies show that different types of memory is stored in different parts of the brain
• Tulving et al (1994) got pps to perform many memory tasks while their brain was scanned using a PET scanner
• they found that episodic & semantic memories were recalled from the prefrontal cortex (divided into 2 - one on each side of the brain)
• this is a strength as it supports the view of different types of LTM
• it has also been confirmed by later research studies which make findings more reliable

Question 7

Evaluation: Real-life application

Answer 7

• identifying different aspects of LTM allow psychologists to target specific kinds of memory to better people’s lives
• Belleville et al (2006) showed that episodic memory could be improved in old people with mild cognitive impairment
• trained pps performed better in episodic memory test after training compared to control group
• episodic memory is often affected by mild cognitive impairment which highlights benefit of being able to differentiate types of memory in LTM as it enables specific treatments to be developed

Question 8

Evaluation: Problems with clinical evidence

Answer 8

• cases like Wearing & Molaison have provided useful info to psychologists about what happens when memory is damaged
• also helped researchers understand how memory is supposed to work normally
• but clinical studies lack significant control of many different variables which can lead to findings not being able to be generalised therefore lacking reliability