Types Of LTM

Question 1

Episodic memory

Answer 1

• Refers to our ability to recall events (episodes form our lives)
• They are time stamped (you remember when they happened)
• You remember several details, such as who was there, places and objects
• You make a conscious effort to recall them- you have to actively think about it

Question 2

Semantic memory

Answer 2

• Knowledge of the world
• Not time stamped (we don’t remember when or how we learned about them)
• We have to deliberately recall these facts

Question 3

Procedural memory

Answer 3

• Memory of action, skills (how we do things)
• We can recall these without conscious awareness

Question 4

Evaluation of LTM stores

Answer 4

• Clinical evidence: case study of Clive Wearing supports this. Episodic memory was severely damaged as a consequence of amnesia. He had difficulty recalling events that had happened in their past. However, their semantic memory was relatively unaffected. His procedural memory was intact as well, as he could play a piano. This evidence supports his view that their are different LTM stores. One can be damaged while the others remain unaffected, which also supports that they are stored in different parts of the brain
• Neuroimaging evidence: Evidence from brain scans shows there are different stores in different parts of the brain e.g Tulving used a PET scan on participants while they completed a memory test. They found that episodic and semantic memories are recalled from prefrontal cortex
• Real-life applications: allow psychologists to target certain kinds of memory in order to better people’s lives