types of LTM

• Types of LTM

  - Endel Tulving (1985) first to realise MSM view of LTM was too simplistic and inflexible. He proposed that there are 2 LTM stores, containing different info
• Episodic Memory

  - LTM store for personal events. Includes memories of when events occurred and of people, objects, places. Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with

  - Much more complex, remember when they happen

  - Memory of single episode will include several elements, place and people, objects and behaviours, interwoven to produce single memory

  - Have to make a conscious effort to recall episodic memories. May have to do so quickly, but you are aware you are searching for a memory
• Semantic Memory


  - LTM store for our knowledge of the world. Include facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. These usually need to be recalled deliberately

  - Been liked to combination of dictionary and thesaurus, includes knowing the meaning of words

  - Not 'time-stamped', Don't remember when we 1st learned of it

  - Less personal and more about facts we share

  - Contains immense collection of material, constantly being added to
• Procedural Memory


  - LTM store of out knowledge of how to do things. Includes memories of learned skills. Usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort

  - E.g. driving a car, change gear without having to recall

  - Sort of skills we might find hard to explain to someone else. If you try to describe what you do while driving a car, task may become more difficult
• Evaluation- Clinical Evidence


  - HM and Clive Wearing. Episodic memory in both men was severely impaired as consequence of amnesia

  - Great difficulty recalling events that had happened in past

  - Semantic memories relatively unaffected e.g. understood meaning of words

  - HM couldn't recall stroking a dog 1/2 hour before and couldn't recall having owned a dog in the past, wouldn't need to concept of 'dog' explained over and over again

  - Procedural memories intact, knew how to tie shoelaces, walk and speak

  -Supports Tulving's view that there are different LTM stores. 1 store can be damaged and others unaffected, stored in different parts of the brain
• Evaluation- Neuroimaging Evidence


  - Evidence from brain scan studies that different types o memory are stored in different parts of brain

  - E.g. Tulving et al (1994) got parts to perform various memory tasks while brains were under PET scanner

  - Found episodic and semantic memories both recalled from area of brain known as prefrontal cortex

  - Divided in 2, 1 on each hemisphere of brain. Left prefrontal cortex involved in recalling semantic memories, episodic recalled from right

  - Strength supports view there is physical reality to different types of LTM within brain, confirmed in research studies, supporting validity
• Evaluation- Real- life Application


  - Bellleville et al (2006) demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people who had a mild cognitive impairment

  - Trained parts performed better on test of episodic memory after training than a control group

  - Episodic memory is type of memory most often affected by mild cognitive impairment, highlights benefit of being able to distinguish between types of LTM, enables specific treatments to be developed
• Evaluation- Problems with Clinical Evidence


  - Serious lack of control of all sorts of different variables in clinical studies
• Evaluation- 3 Types of LTM or 2?

  - Cohen and Squire (1980) disagree with Tulving's 3 types of LTM. Accept procedural memories represent 1 type of LTM.

  - BUT episodic and semantic are stored in one LTM store they call declarative memory i.e. memories that can be consciously recalled. In contrast procedural memories are non-declarative