types of ltm

• LTM store 1 : episodic memory


  Stores events (episodes) from our lives, this store is like a diary. for example your most recent visit to the dentist, the psych class you had yesterday. episodic memories are complex - they are time-stamped - your remember when they happened. they involve several elements - people, places, objects and behaviours woven into one memory. you have to make a conscious effort to recall them
• LTM store 2: semantic memory


  stores our knowledge on the world. this is like a dictionary. for example it includes knowledge of such things as applying to universities + the meaning of words.

  semantic memories are not time-stamped. for example we don't remember when we first learned about justin beiber. semantic knowledge is less personal and more about the knowledge that we all share
• LTM store 3 : procedural memory


  stores memories for actions + skills. these are memories of how we do things, for example driving a car or playing table tennis.

  recalls occurs without awareness or effort, these are the sort of skills we might even find difficult to explain to someone because we recall these memories without a conscious awareness. for example, explaining how to ride a bike or telling someone how you change gear when driving because you do it without having to recall how to do so
• strength of episodic memory - supported by case study evidence

  clinical studies of amnesia (HM + Clive wearing) showed both had difficulty recalling events that had happened to them in their past. but their semantic memories were relatively unaffected (eg HM didn't recall stroking a dog half an hour earlier, but didn't need the concept of 'dog' explained to him). this supports the view that there are different memory stores in LTM because one store can be damaged but the others left unaffected
• strength - brain scan studies show that there's different LTM stores

  Tulving et al. (1994) had pp's perform various memory tasks while their brains were scanned with a PET scanner. Episodic + semantic memories were in the prefrontal cortex ; semantic in left side + episodic in the right prefrontal cortex. this shows a physical reality in the brain to the different types of LTM, confirmed in many research studies, supporting its validity
• limitation - problems with clinical evidence 


  evidence is often based on clinical cases (eg clive wearing + HM) about what happens when memory is damaged. there is a serious lack of control of different variables in these studies (eg cannot control the precise location of the brain damage or personality variables). so it's difficult to generalise from these case studies to determine the exact nature of LTM
• strength - identifying different LTM stores has real-life applications


  Psychologists can target certain kinds of memory in order to improve people's lives. Belleville et al. (2006) found that episodic memories can be improved in older people with mild cognitive impairments. training led to improvements(compared to control group). this highlights the benefit of distinguishing between different types of LTM - it allows specific treatments to be developed