Tulvings Explanation of LTM

• What did he propose?

  LTM could be divided into 2 memory stores: episodic memory (experiences) and semantic memory (facts)

  • proposed that each store was qualitatively different on terms of the nature of stored memories
  • Time referencing
  • The nature of associations between memories held in each store
  • The nature of retrieving or recalling memories held in each store
  • The independence of each store
• The Nature of Semantic Memory

  Sensory=mental encyclopedia, storing Words, Facts, Rules, Meanings and Concepts as an organised body of knowledge ~~~associated with other facts that link the concepts together without autobiographical association
• The Nature of Episodic Memory

  Episodic= mental diary ~ receives and stores info about experiences or events that occur in our lifetime ~linked to time and context
• Time Referencing: Semantic


  Semantic = detached from temporal link, as factual info could be recalled without reference to when it was learned
• Time Referencing: Episodic 


  Episodic =dependant on time-referencing, memories about events that happened ro you are linked to the time in which they've occured
• Spatial Referencing: Semantic

  Semantic= input in a fragmentary way - piece factual info together that has been learned at different points in times - Eg: both pieces of info can be stored independently and pieced together in a temporal form later on to understand it
• Spatial Referencing: Episodic

  Episodic= input is continuous - we experience a whole episode in some temporal frame of reference
• Retrieval: Semantic

  Semantic= not dependant on context in which its learned, assumed that retrieval of these type of memories is similarily not dependant on context to aid recall ~based on inferences, generalisation and rational, logical thought
• Retrieval: Episodic 


  Episodic= dependant on the context in which the event was initially learned or experienced, its this context that aids the retrieval of episodic memories
• Are the Stores Interrelated? Semantic?

  ~Semantic memory = can operate independently of episodic memory - don't need to remember the classroom lesson about equations to be able to use equations learnt
• Are the Stores Interrelated? Episodic?

  ~Episodic memory = is unlikely to operate without semantic memory as as we need to draw on previous knowledge of people, objects and events that occurred in order to be able to understand them
• Tulving argued that even though the stores may overlap they can be...

  ~Treated as separate independent stores