Tulving: Long Term Memory

Question 1

What are the two types of memory within the LTM?

Answer 1

Episodic and semantic

Question 2

What is episodic memory?

Answer 2

-a mental diary
-remembers personal events and experiences.

Question 3

What is semantic memory?

Answer 3

-mental encyclopaedia.
-remembers facts, knowledge and figures.
-doesn’t rely on retrieval and can rely on a set of rules.

Question 4

What is time referencing?

Answer 4

If memories are linked together and can trigger one another.

Question 5

What is spatial referencing?

Answer 5

If all the memories are remembered together or fragmented.

Question 6

What is a state and context cue?

Answer 6

State- personal/emotions.
Context- environment

Question 7

Is episodic or semantic memories time referenced? And why?

Answer 7

Episodic- one memory can trigger another and it is dependent on time referencing.

Question 8

From semantic and episodic memory, which one uses spatial referencing? And why?

Answer 8

-Semantic memory
-Things are remembered in fragments not all together.

Question 9

Does episodic memory use cues and is it easily forgotten?

Answer 9

-Is cue dependent (both state and context).
-Can be easily forgotten as it is very susceptible to memory transformation due to failure of cues.

Question 10

Is semantic memory dependent on cues and is it easily forgotten?

Answer 10

-It is not cue dependent.
-Is not daily forgotten as it is robust and less susceptible to transformation .

Question 11

What is Steyvers and Hemmer (2012) research and how does it support/conflict Tulving’s theory?

Answer 11

-Suggested it is not possible to study both forms of memory separately as episodic relies on knowledge which is semantic.
-Conflicts theory as it is said to not be two separate stores.

Question 12

What is Ostregaard (1987) research and how does it support/conflict Tulving’s theory?

Answer 12

-Study of a 10 year old boy who had oxygen deprivation. Could do well in school and semantic came back but episodic did not.
-Supports theory as it shows LTM as two separate stores.

Question 13

What is the KC case study and how does it support/conflict the theory?

Answer 13

-Had a motorcycle accident and couldn’t recall episodic memories but could recall semantic.
-Supporting as shows two separate stores in the LTM.

Question 14

What is Squire and Zola’s (1988) research and how does it support/conflict the theory?

Answer 14

-Conducted brain scans and found both stores but both were in the medial temporal lobe.
-Supports as it can prove that the two stores exist.
-Conflicts as both stores are in the same place so could be 1 store not 2.

Question 15

What is the HM case study and how does it support/conflict the theory?

Answer 15

-Could not make new semantic or episodic memories.
-Conflicts theory as both stores were damaged it shows it could all be one store (in the hippocampus).

Question 16

What is Gilbert and Fisher’s(2006) study and how doe sit support/conflict the theory?

Answer 16

-Cues were effective in helping recall a video of a mock crime which was previously forgotten.
-Supports theory as video is an episodic memory which is cue dependent

Question 17

Why is the MSM better than Tulving’s theory?

Answer 17

Can explain long term memory, short term memory and the sensory register but Tulving only describes the long term memory.

Question 18

Why is Tulving’s theory better than the MSM?

Answer 18

Tulving’s theory is a lot more in depth than the MSM when explaining the LTM.

Question 19

Who might the theory be useful to help?

Answer 19

People suffering with dementia.

Question 20

Why can the theory be useful for people with dementia?

Answer 20

-They typically lose their episodic memory before semantic.
-So the theory can explain a real life behaviour.

Question 21

What are some strengths and weaknesses of case studies?

Answer 21

Strengths:
-Very valid as they gather in depth qual data.
-Do not cause any harm to the person.
Weaknesses:
-Not generalisable.
-Not very reliable.
-It is an invasive process and if it becomes well known can break the confidentiality.

Question 22

What is a strength of brain scans supporting the theory?

Answer 22

-Empirical evidence (scientific) so can be observed and harder to contradict.

Question 23

What is a strength and weakness of the video used in the study?

Answer 23

Strength:
-easy to repeat and standardised.
Weakness:
-Not true to real life so lacks mundane realism and cannot explain real life behaviour.