Working Memory Model Tulving, 1972 Tulving said that LTM can be divided into semantic, episodic and procedural memory. Semantic: memory for facts Episodic: memory for events Procedural: memory of how to do something

Semantic Memory Contains all knowledge, facts meanings. Semantic and episodic memory overlap in LTM. Semantic memories are easier to recall due to the amount of links of several interrelated memories (not a single memory) associated in different brain areas. Holds concepts, rules and language. It is the factual knowledge about the world, a mental encyclopaedia.

Episodic Memory Episodes in our lives that have taken place, e.g., events, people, places, first kiss. It is ‘autobiographical’ Autobiographical Memory (AM), is a special kind of EM. It is about particular life events that have personal significance. Experimental EM (EM). If you take part in a memory experiment and forget the words in the free-recall, this is your EM. Flashbulb memories: Brown & Kulik (1977), Vivid & detailed recollections of where we were and what we were doing.

Procedural Memory Implicit (doesn’t require conscious thought) Memory of knowing how to do something (speaking, walking, dressing).

Butterworth (2002): The case of Dr S Dr S was a neurologist, who fell while skiing. When the people he was skiing with caught up with him, he was surprised to find that his wife looked extremely old, and he failed to recognise some of his younger colleagues. They worked out that the past 25 years of his life were essentially blank. He then continued to ski down the mountain. When taken for a brain scan, he made the correct diagnosis of transient global amnesia when he saw the scan. What does this tell us about Dr S’s episodic memory. What does this tell us about Dr S’s semantic memory. What does this tell us about Dr S’s procedural memory. Handout for them to stick in

Butterworth (2002): The case of Dr S Dr S was a neurologist, who fell while skiing. When the people he was skiing with caught up with him, he was surprised to find that his wife looked extremely old, and he failed to recognise some of his younger colleagues. He then continued to ski down the mountain. This was explained by loss of episodic memory he appeared to be suffering as a result of his fall, in which the previous 25 years were a blank. However, when he was taken to the local hospital he asked for a brain scan (which he would have learned about in the missing 25 year period), and made a correct diagnosis of transient global amnesia when he saw the scan.   His semantic memory therefore seemed to be intact. The fact that he had also remembered how to ski after his accident demonstrates that his procedural memory was also intact.

Types of Memory

Strengths There’s a lot of research in support of Tulving’s distinctions (case studies, dementia patients) The Classic Cognitive Study by Baddeley (1966b) also supports the existence of semantic memory. Supported by experiments Improvement on MSM

Weaknesses Damage to the temporal cortex of the brain seems to cause problems with both types of memory, as does dementia. This suggests declarative and non-declarative memory are located in the same place and may turn out to be the same thing working in different ways. It's really hard to define episodic and semantic memory in a measurable way. This means that Tulving's concepts are not operationalisable. It seems as if semantic and episodic memory both rely on each other and might not be all that separate.