types of long term memory

• what is an episodic memory

  a long term memory store for personal events. it involves memories of when events occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved
• what is semantic memory

  a long term memory for our knowledge of the world. this includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean
• what is procedural memory?

  a long term store for our knowledge of how to do things. this includes our memories of learned skills
• what did Endel Tulving believe?


  he believed that the MSMs view of LTM was too simplistic and inflexible. he believed that there were three different stores for different types of information
• what is a flashbulb memory?


  a more detailed and vivid memory of an event that is stored after one occasion. often life changing events such as births, deaths or historical events. usually emotional arousal when memory is is first encoded and it makes it more vivid
• clinical evidence for different types of LTM


  Rosenbaum et al 2005

  • K.C had a motorcycle accident- left him with widespread brain damage which includes large bilateral hippocampal lesions
  • caused memory impairment, most of his general knowledge of the world including about himself is intact but is incapable of recollecting any personal events
  • this shows that semantic memory and episodic memory are two different processes
• clinical evidence for different types of LTM

  HM and clive wearing

  • both had brain damage which severely affected their episodic memory but their semantic and procedural memories were intact
  • Clive wearing could read and play complex music on the piano