Tulving SCOUT

• Supporting evidence for LTM being made up of semantic and episodic systems


  • Tulving et al. (1994) performed brain scans on volunteers while they carried out various memory tasks
  • When participants were using their episodic memory, the right prefrontal cortex was active
  • When participants were using their semantic memory, the left prefrontal cortex was active
• This suggests that episodic memory and semantic memory are two separate systems
• Weakness of Tulving's original LTM theory

  • Highlighted by case studies of HM and Clive Wearing
  • Both had brain damage which severely affected their ability to retain and recall long-term memory from episodic storage
• Both HM and Clive Wearing were able to perform LTM tasks
• LTM tasks


  • Clive playing the piano
  • HM could still learn new procedural skills, e.g. the ability to draw around a star shape in the mirror
• Procedural memory


  A further long-term store for recalling practised skills, distinct from episodic memory
• Tulving later added procedural memory to his model of LTM
• Tulving's theory


  • Ability to identify different types of long-term memory
  • Allows psychologists to target certain kinds of memory to improve people's lives
• Trained participants in the study

  Performed better on a test of episodic memory after training than a control group
• Tulving's theory has useful applications to real-life situations when elderly people have cognitive impairments