long term memory

• Endel Tulving (1985) - key psychologist 


  • One of the first cognitive psychologists to realise that the MSM's view of the long term memory was too simplistic and inflexible. Tulving proposed there are 3 LTM stores.
• Episodic memory


  • Time stamped
  • Most complex
  • Memory of a single episode will include multiple elements eg. people or places
  • Must make a conscious effort to recall them
• Semantic memories 


  • Facts and figures
  • Knowlage of the world
  • Not time stamped - don't remember where we learnt it
  • Less personal
• Procedural memories 


  • We can recall these memories without conscious awareness or a great deal of effort
  • Skills we might find difficult to explain to someone else
  • Actions and skills
• Ao3 points for LTM

  Case study of HM and Clive wearing = clinical evidence

  • For both their episodic memory was impaired due to amnesia. However their semantic memory was intact and they understood the meanings of words and in HM's case his procedural memory improved.
  • Increased validity
• Ao3 for LTM

  • Neuroimaging evidence - Tulving, pps required to perform various memory tasks while being scanned by a PET scan.
  • Left prefrontal cortex = semantic
  • Right prefrontal cortex = episodic
• Ao3 for LTM

  • Real life application - Bellville et al demonstrated episodic memories could be improved in older people who had a mild cognitive impairment. Trained pps performed better on a test of episodic memory than a control group.
• Ao3 of LTM


  • Case studies are not generalizable + poor control over variables
• Ao3 of LTM

  • Opposing theory - Cohen and Squire disagree with Tulving's division of the LTM into three types.
  • Accept procedural memories represent one type of LTM but argue that episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one LTM store that they call the declarative memory ie. memories that can be consciously recalled. Procedural are non-declarative.