types of LTM

Question 1

who proposed the idea of different LTM stores? and why?

Answer 1

Tulving
- criticised the msm for being too simplistic

Question 2

how many LTM stores did he propose there are?

Answer 2

3

Question 3

what are the 3 separate LTM stores?

Answer 3

• episodic
• semantic
• procedural

Question 4

what is episodic memory?

Answer 4

• refers to the memory of personal experiences, events or times in our lives.
• episodic memories are stored with reference to context (where, who, why)
• e.g. first day of school

Question 5

what is semantic memory?

Answer 5

-refers to factual knowledge of the world e.g. the capital of England
- or the meaning of words

Question 6

what is procedural memory?

Answer 6

• refers to memory of skills, actions or ‘how’ things are done
• e.g. how to ride a bike

Question 7

which memory types are recalled consciously?

Answer 7

• semantic
• episodic

Question 8

which memory types are recalled unconsciously?

Answer 8

• procedural

Question 9

evaluation: evidence support (Clive Wearing)

Answer 9

ID: a strength of Tulving’s types of LTM is that evidence supports this view
Q: this means that there is clinical evidence from case studies to support LTM being made up of separate types of LTM
EX: for example, evidence comes from the case of Clive Wearing, who suffered brain damage. he lost his episodic memory (he was unable to remember his wife visiting him 5 minutes previously), but still has use of his procedural memory (still able to skillfully play the piano and understand the concept of music)
AN: this supports the idea of different types of LTM, as LTM can’t be unitary if certain sections can be affected, whilst other sections remain unaffected. increasing the external validity of Tulving’s proposal

Question 10

evaluation: practical application (Belleville)

Answer 10

ID: there is a practical application in being able to differentiate between different types of LTM
Q: this means there is evidence from Belleville that understanding of different types of LTM can be applied to the real-world
EX: for example, Belleville found that mild cognitive impairments most commonly affect episodic memories and so, an increased understanding of episodic memory, alongside the differences between different types of LTM, may lead to improved, increasingly targeted treatments for mild cognitive impairments.
AN: this is a strength of different types of LTM, as understanding has benefitted treatments in improving episodic memories in older people who had a mild cognitive impairment

Question 11

evaluation: evidence from brain scans (Tulving)

Answer 11

ID: furthermore, Tulving carried out neuroimaging to support his theory
Q: this means that there is evidence from brain scan studies that the different types of memory are stored in different parts of the brain
EX: for example, Tulving asked ppt’s to complete memory tasks, as their brains were being scanned using a PET scanner. he found that episodic and semantic memories were both recalled from the prefrontal cortex, which is divided into two (left and right hemisphere). left -semantic memories. right-episodic memories.
AN: the strength of this finding is that it conveys that there is physical evidence about the types of LTM. the validity of this finding has been supported by later studies