Psychology of Long-Term Memory

Overview of Long-Term Memory (LTM)

• Not a Unified Store: LTM is not a single, unified memory store.
• Historical Development:
  • Alluded to in the 1890s.
  • Formalized in the 1960s by Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model of memory.

Types of Long-Term Memory

Endel Tulving's Triptych

• Three Types:
  1. Procedural Memory
     • Definition: Knowing how to do things, unconscious (non-declarative).
     • Examples: Riding a bike, catching a ball.
  2. Semantic Memory
     • Definition: Information about the world, conscious and declarative.
     • Examples: China is a country in Asia, spaghetti is a pasta.
  3. Episodic Memory
     • Definition: Events experienced personally, conscious and declarative.
     • Examples: Remembering your first kiss.

Validity of the Model

• Demonstrating Distinction: Each type must be shown to exist independently.

Alternative Model: Coenen & Squire

• Two Categories:
  1. Declarative Memory
     • Definition: Knowing information that can be consciously recalled and declared.
     • Key Point: Involves semantic and episodic memories.
  2. Procedural Memory
     • Definition: Memory for processes or how to do things.

Amnesia Studies

• Findings:
  • Patients retain procedural and declarative memories from pre-onset.
  • Patients can acquire new procedural skills post-onset but struggle with new episodic or semantic memories.

Conclusion

• Impact on Cognitive Study: Tulving's work has expanded the understanding of memory beyond a unified concept, with research supporting distinct types of LTM.

Next Steps

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