Types of LTM

• Tulving (1972)- criticised the simplification of LTM in the MsM. Proposed 3 different types of information- episodic, semantic, procedural
• Episodic memory- personal information about things that happen in our lives, requires conscious effort, holds contextual information and is the most vulnerable to distortion
• Semantic memory- general knowledge about the world, sometimes conscious but other times automatic, holds no contextual information, and slightly vulnerable to distortion
• Procedural memory- memories of actions and skills, requires unconscious or automatic processing and is therefore difficult to verbalise, holds no contextual information, invulnerable to distortion
• Evaluation of the 3 types of LTM:

  • Brain imaging supports- episodic is related to activity in the hippocampus and frontal lobe, semantic is related to the temporal lobe, procedural is related to the cerebellum and basal ganglia. Therefore different types of LTM are in different parts of the brain (not a unitary store)
  • Application- helps those with memory issues. Belleville et al (2008)- intervention created to help improve episodic memory, adds value to Tulving's theory
• Case study:

  • Clive Wearing- damage to hippocampus and temporal lobe, less access to episodic and semantic memory but procedural still intact.
  • Supports Tulving's theory of LTM because the different parts of the brain are reflected by the damage and Clive's ability
  • However, we don't know what his memory was like pre-infection