Types of Long Term Memory Flashcards
What are the two types of long term memory?
Procedural memory and declarative memory
What are the two types of declarative memory?
Semantic memory and episodic memory
What is procedural memory?
Implicit memory, which means that it is hard to talk about and to explain
What is declarative memory?
Explicit memory, which means that it is easy to talk about and to explain
What is semantic memory?
Memory that is general knowledge
What is episodic memory?
Memory about personal events
Who created the evidence for the distinction between procedural and declarative memory?
Milner
What was the case study of HM?
He was able to trace a shape using its mirror image and retain this for a number of days but he had no conscious recollection of every doing this task
What did the conclusion of HM conclude?
He was able to use his procedural memory but he had damaged his ability to use his declarative memory
What is an example of procedural memory?
Riding a bike or driving a car
When does most procedural memory occur?
In the early stages of life
What areas of the brain does procedural memory occur?
Neocortex brain, primary motor cortex, cerebellum and the prefrontal cortex
Who researched the case study of PM?
Finke et al.
What happened to PM?
He suffered brain damage after he contracted encephalitis which resulted in severe amnesia
What parts of his brain were affected and which parts were still okay?
His episodic and semantic memory were affected but his procedural memory was still fine
How did they know that there was a difference between each different type of LTM?
He could not remember musical facts but he could still play music facts and he could learn new complex pieces
What is an example of episodic memory?
Our first day at school or a birthday party
What are episodic memories influenced by?
Emotions
How is the strength of our episodic memories affected?
The degree of processing of information at coding
What does episodic information help individuals to do?
Distinguish between real events and imaginations
What areas of the brain does episodic memory use?
The prefrontal brain, the neocortex and the hippocampus
Who researched episodic memory?
Herlitz et al.
What did Herlitz do in his study?
He used 1000 Swedish participants finding that females performed better in episodic tasks but there was no difference in semantic tasks
What did Herlitz study suggest?
There are gender differences in episodic memory which can be explained by females having a generally higher verbal ability
What is an example of semantic memory?
The alphabet and names of animals
How is semantic memory different from episodic memory?
It is less personal and more about the facts that we share
How is semantic memory linked to episodic memory?
The knowledge we learn tends to be learnt from past experiences
What areas of the brain are associated with semantic memory?
The hippocampus, the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe
What researched semantic memory?
Vicari et al
What did Vicari research?
An eight year old girl (CL) who had suffered brain damage due to the removal of a tumour
What did Vicari find?
Episodic and semantic memory are separate systems because she could not recall episodic memories but she could recall semantic memories
