Types of long term memory - AO3

Question 1

What are two strengths of types of LTM?

Answer 1

• P: Strength = understanding this allows psychologists to help people memory problems
• E: As people age they get memory loss - specific to EM - recent ones but past EM remain intact
• E: Belleville et al. (2006): Intervention to improve EM in older people. Trained PPs performed better in a test on EM after training than a control group
• L: Shows that distinguishing between different types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed
  ‎
• P: Strength = study evidence of different types of LTM
• E: Clinical studies of amnesia (HM and Clive Wearing) showed both had difficulty recalling events that happend to them in their pasts (EM)
• E: But semantic memories were relatively unaffected (e.g HM did not need the concept of a dog explained to him). PM was also intact (e.g Wearign still played the piano
• L: Supports the view that there are different memory stores in LTM because on store can be damaged but th eother stores are unaffected

Question 2

What are two limitations of types of LTM?

Answer 2

• P: Limitation = conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain
• E: Buchner and Peterson (1996): Reviewed evidence regarding the location of semantic and episodic memory. Semantic is on the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic is on the right
• C: Other research links the left prefrontal cotex with EM and right with semantic (Tulving et al. (1999))
• S: Challenged neurophysiological evidence to support types of LTM as there is poor agreement on where each type is located

‎

• P: Limitation = contradictory findings
• E: Tulving (2002): EM is a “specialised subcategory” of semantic - an intact semantic memory can function with a damaged episodic but not viceversa
• E: However Hodges and Patterson (2007) found that some patients with Alzheimers can form new EM but not semantic
• L: Therefore episodic and semantic memories are closely related but ultimately different forms of LTM