long term memory

• who proposed 3 types of long term memory?

  tulving 1985
• name 3 types of long term memory?

  1. episodic
  2. semantic
  3. procedural
• define episodic memory?


  • refers to our ability to recall personal events (episodes) from our lives
• name 2 features of episodic memory?

  1. memories are time stamped - rememeber when
  2. memory of single event includes several components - details such as time place who was there, context why, what happened before/after & associated emotions how you felt
  3. conscious effort - have to think to recall
• define semantic memory?

  • refers to our general knowledge of world which is shared by everyone
  • vast collection of material which is constantly being added to
  • NOT TIME STAMPED
• define procedural memory?

  • refers to our memory for skills, actions
  • knowing how to do things
  • aka muscle memory
  • no conscious effort required
  • automatic
• 3 * of long term memory

  1. evidence from hm case study
  2. evidence from brain scans
  3. real life applications - belleville et al 2006
• 2 X of long term memory?

  1. evidence that shows ltm made of 2 stores not 3 - cohen & squire 1980
  2. problems using case studies of individual with brain damage
• * evidence to support from hm case study?

  • had suffered severe epilepsy & underwent major surgery to relieve epileptic fits
  • temporal lobes on both sides of brain were removed had difficulty recalling events that had happened to him in past
  • his semantic memories were intact & still knew how to walk/talk
  • shows there must be more than 1 store in ltm
  • shows how 1 store in ltm could be damaged but others are unaffected
• * evidence from brain scans?

  • tulving asked p to perform various memory tasks while brains were scanned using PET scanner
  • found that episodic & semantic both recalled from area of brain known as prefrontal cortex
  • left - recalls semantic right - recalls episodic
  • * internal
  • provides objective, scientific, empirical evidence which shows a physical reality to different types of ltm meaning concept surpasses a basic theoretical concept
• * real life applications?

  • being able to identify different aspects of ltm has allowed psychologists to target certain kinds of memory in order to better peoples lives
  • belleville found that episodic memory can be improved through training in elderly with mild cog impairments as trained p peformed better on test of episodic than control group
  • shows there must be more than 1 store in ltm & knowledge of this can enable specific treatments to be developed for range of cog impairements
• X of ltm made of 2 stores not 3?

  • cohen & squire believed that procedural memories represent 1 type of ltm (non declarative)
  • argue that semantic & episodic stored together in 1 separate ltm store known as declarative memory - can be consciously recalled
  • shows that ltm works in different ways & the way memories are catergorised may be based upon amount of conscious recall rather than type of info
  • contradicts importance of time stamped memories
• X problems using case studies?

  • whilst case studies of hm & clive wearing have provided lots of useful info about what happens when memory is damaged, they suffer from lack of control of different variables
  • e.g severity of injury/age of patient when injured
  • research does not account for evs that may confound results
  • difficult to establish causal relationship between brain damaged patients & types of ltm