Types of Long term memory

Endel Tulving (1985

Endel Tulvinh was one of the first cognitive psychologists to realise the multi store model’s view of LTM was too simplistic. He proved that there are 3 LTM stores : semantic , Procedural and Episodic

episodic memory

• episodic memory refers to our ability to recall events from our lives

• Some examples are : your most recent visit to the dentist, the party you went to last week …

• These memories are complex and time stamped

• They require conscious efforts to recall- you do this quickly but you’re aware that you are searching for a memory

Semantic memory

• semantic memory refers to our shared knowledge of the the world

• This includes : facts , general knowledge( like capital cities) , the meaning of words

• These memories are not time stamped as we don’t usually remember the first time we learn them

• They require conscious effort

Procedural memory

• this refers to our memory for our actions / skills and how we do things

• Some examples are : riding a bike

• These memories are not time stamped and they don’t require conscious effort to be recalled

Evaluation

• one strength is ts evidence from case studies of HM and Clive Wearing. Episodic memory on both men was impaired due to brain damage but their semantic memory was relatively unaffected , they still understood the meaning of words . For example , HM could not recall stroking a dog half an hour earlier but did not need the concept of ‘dog’ explained to him

• One strength is that understanding type of LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems. For example , as people age, they experience memory loss. But research has shown that this seems to be specific to episodic memory - it becomes harder to recall memories