Types of Long Term Memory

Question 1

Tulving

Answer 1

Tulving realised the MSMM’s view of LTM was too simplistic

He proposed there were 3 LTM stores

Question 2

SEMANTIC MEMORY

Answer 2

SEMANTIC MEMORY
- facts, words, concepts
- declarative
- requires effort
- not time-stamped
- rote-learning, experience
- e.g Capital of France

Question 3

EPISODIC MEMORY

Answer 3

EPISODIC MEMORY
- events from past - people, places, objects, behaviour
- declarative
- requires effort
- time-stamped, order of events
- experience - direct, personal
- e.g first day of school

Question 4

PROCEDURAL MEMORY

Answer 4

PROCEDURAL MEMORY
- knowledge of how to do things, skills
- non-declarative
- automatic
- not time-stamped
- direct personal experience, practice, repetition
- e.g riding a bike

Question 5

EVALUATION (3)

Answer 5

EVALUATION

• Clinical evidence - Clive Wearing
• Brain scan evidence
• Real life applications - Belleville

Question 6

EVAL: Clinical Evidence

Answer 6

Clinical evidence

• Clive Wearing suffered damage to his hippocampus
• his memory loss was selective = difficulty with episodic memory, semantic and procedural memory intact
• could tie his shoes, play piano, knew concept of ‘dog’ but wouldnt remember stroking a dog and hour earlier
• shows LTM has different parts supporting Tulving
• C/A lack of control, no knowledge of his memory beforehand

Question 7

EVAL: Neuroimaging evidence

Answer 7

Neuroimaging evidence

• Tulving got ppts to perform various tasks while brains were scanned using a PET scanner
• found (right hemisphere) episodic and (left hemisphere) semantic both recalled in prefrontal cortex
• procedural recalled from cerebellum and basal ganglia
• empirical evidence
• supporteed many times in later studies, increased validity
• C/A brain scans only able to locate general areas of brain activity, invasive and costly

Question 8

EVAL: Real life applications

Answer 8

Real life applications

• Belleville found ppts performed better on a test of episodic memory after training than a control group
• demonstrates episodic could be improved in older people with mild cognitive impairment, this type of LTM affects them the most
• distinguishing between LTM types enables specific treatments to be developed