Types of LTM

• Who Looked at different sections of LTM?

  Tulving- He realised that the Multi-Store LTM was too simplistic
• What did Tulving Propose about LTM?

  Made of 3 Parts:-Episodic Memory-Semantic Memory-Procedural Memory
• What is Episodic Memory?

  A LTM store for Personal EventsThey're 'time stamped' (Dates)The memory of a single episode which includes several elements.Conscious recall

  i.e places and people
• What is Semantic memory?

  Contains our knowledge of the world, includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean.Concious Recall
• What is Procedural Memory?

  Stores our knowledge of how to do things. Includes memories of learned skills.Unconscious Recall
• Neuroimaging evidence support (AO3)

  • objective, scientific support for the idea that LTM is divided into different systems.
  • Tulving et al. used PET scans to study brain activity while participants performed memory tasks
  • Found that episodic memories activated the right prefrontal cortex
  • semantic memories were associated with activity in the left prefrontal cortex
  • suggests that not only are episodic and semantic memories distinct, but they also rely on physically different areas of the brain, supporting the view that they are separate types of LTM.
  • Furthermore, procedural memory has been linked to the cerebellum and motor cortex, areas involved in movement and coordination.
  • strong biological support, increasing the validity of the theory that LTM is not unitary
• Limitation- two types of LTM (AO3)

  • COHEN AND SQUIRE
  • Challenged Tulvings notion of 3 types
  • Argue that episodic and semantic memories are stored in one LTM store labelled as declarative memory as they can both be called consciously
  • Alternatively, procedural memory is stored in a separate store that is nondeclarative
  • May therefore suggest an over-exaggeration of LTM stores and it may simply rely on conscious or muscle-based recall
  • a more accurate and streamlined account of how different types of memories are organised in the brain
• Strength case study support

  • The case of HM (Henry Molaison)
  • Following brain surgery to relieve severe epilepsy—during which his hippocampus was removed—HM was left with severe anterograde amnesia, meaning he could not form new episodic or semantic memories.
  • However, his procedural memory remained intact; he was able to learn new motor skills, such as mirror drawing, despite having no conscious recollection of practising them.
  • supports Tulving’s theory that long-term memory consists of distinct stores
  • The use of a real-life case study enhances the ecological validity of the theory
  • However, because case studies involve individuals with unique damage and histories, findings may lack population validity, making it difficult to generalise the conclusions to everyone.