Types of LTM Flashcards
Name the psychologist who proposed the 3 types of LTM.
Tulving.
What is episodic memory?
Give an example
Memories about every day experiences.
Eg: Going on holiday, going to shop
How are episodic memories created?
Information stored about the place, people, objects and behaviours around us are weaved together to produce an ‘episode’.
What does it mean to say that episodic memories are time stamped?
We remember when they happened.
What does explicit mean in terms of memory?
We have to make a conscious effort to recall the memory.
Which types of LTM are explicit?
Episodic
Semantic
What are semantic memories?
Give examples.
Memories about general knowledge and facts.
Eg: The capital of France.
Contains our shared knowledge of the world and ideas about concepts such as love.
Which other LTM store do semantic memories start as? How do they eventually become semantic?
Episodic. They progressively lose their association with events over time, so only the knowledge learnt remains.
Semantic memories are less vulnerable to distortion and forgetting than which other type of LTM?
Episodic.
What are procedural memories?
Give examples.
Memories on how to perform skills.
Eg: driving a car, using a computer.
When using procedural memory, what do we find hard to do?
While using our procedural memory, we may find it hard to explain to others how we are doing the skill.
What are implicit memories?
Memories that can be recalled without conscious thought.
Are procedural memories implicit or explicit?
Implicit.
Explain the strength that there is evidence for different LTM stores from Clive Wearing and HM.
Which LTM stores were damaged/undamaged in both men?
What could HM not remember doing 30 minutes age, but what did he still know about it?
What skill was Clive Wearing able to do, but what was he not able to remember about his family?
Both men suffered with brain damage and as a result, episodic memory was damaged while semantic and procedural memories were unaffected. This is shown how for example, HM could not remember stroking a dog 30 minutes before, but still knew what a dog was, and he could still walk. In Clive Wearing’s case, he still knew the meaning of words and could still play the piano, but would not remember if a family member left the room and thought that them re-entering would mean they were coming home for the first time. This evidence supports Tulving’s idea that there is more than 1 LTM store, and how 1 store can be affected while the other functions normally.
Explain the strength that understanding LTM helps to develop treatments for people with memory problems.
Which LTM store is associated with memory loss in older people?
Explain Belleville’s study where he trained PPTs memory, and say what he found compared to the control group.
Research has shown that as we age, we experience memory loss but this is specific to episodic memory. Belleville demonstrated that episodic memories can be improved in older people with a mild cognitive impairment. The PPTs whose memory had been trained performed better on a test of episodic memory than a control group who had not been trained. This shows that understanding different LTM stores means treatments can be developed.
