Tulving's theory of LTM

Question 1

describe what is meant by episodic memory

Answer 1

a mental diary

linked to time and context

encoded using smells or sounds

Question 2

describe what is meant by semantic memory

Answer 2

mental encyclopaedia

storing words, facts, rules

needed for language

Question 3

difference between semantic and episodic memory in terms of forgetting

Answer 3

semantic memory’s memory trace is more robust and less susceptible to forgetting. episodic memory can be forgotten due to retrieval cue failure.

Question 4

difference between semantic and episodic memory in terms of retrieval

Answer 4

semantic memory can be retrieved without learning and requires no cues.

However, episodic memory retrieval requires cues.

Question 5

difference between semantic and episodic memory in terms of time referencing

Answer 5

semantic memory is independent of time referencing.

Episodic memory requires time and context.

Question 6

suggest and explain a supporting study Tulving’s theory

Answer 6

KC suffered LTM impairment to his episodic memory so could not recall personal events, however he could still recall factual information. Therefore, supports idea that LTM has 2 different subsystems.

Question 7

strength of Tulving’s theory (amnesia patients)

Answer 7

Evidence from amnesia patients shows dissociation between semantic and episodic memory and suggests one store can be affected without affecting the other. This suggests semantic memory can function independently from episodic memory e.g. we do not need to remember a classroom lesson about equations to be able to use the equations we learnt.

Question 8

weakness of Tulving’s theory hint: isolation

Answer 8

cannot separate episodic and semantic memory as they work together e.g. learning a list of words can have a semantic feature (meaning) and episodic feature (when and where they were remembered) - therefore they can’t be studied in isolation

Question 9

weakness of tulving’s theory

Answer 9

Clive wearing suffered memory impairments that affected his ability to retain info in LTM. However, he was still able to remember how to preform tasks e.g. playing the piano and could learn new skills. Tulving added procedural memory for skills we learn which suggests that the theory was incomplete and not a full explanation of LTM