2.3 Types of Long Term Memory

Tulving (1972) proposed a distinction between episodic, semantic and procedural memory. These can be split into implicit and explicit memories.
1. Explicit
  1. Memory with awareness that can be consciously recalled.
2. Implicit
  1. Memory without awareness
Procedural
1. Implicit
2. Memory for actions or skills. Can be recalled without a conscious effort.
Semantic
1. Explicit
2. Contains the shared knowledge of the world. Like how an orange looks. These memories are not time stamped.
Episodic
1. Explicit
2. Refers to the ability to recall events from our lives. These are time stamped and will include several elements.
Evaluation
1. Strengths:
  1. Clinical evidence. Case study of Clive Wearing, an amnesiac showed that his episodic memory was severely damaged, yet he still remembered how to read music and play the piano.
  2. Real world application. Belleville et al (2006) devised an intervention to improve episodic memory in older people.
2. Weaknesses:
  1. Conflicting neuroimaging evidence. Buckner and Peterson (1996) concluded that semantic memory is located on the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic on the right. This challenges neurophyisological evidence.

Resource summary

	Created by Alicja Klak almost 2 years ago