Types of LTM

Exam Practice question Starter Jamal is playing video game involving sorting shapes and having a conversation with his friend at the same time. The video game then changes from sorting shapes to sorting words. Jamal finds he is unable to carry on his conversation with his friend as the task of the video changes from shapes to words. Using your knowledge of the working memory model, explain why Jamal finds it easy to have a conversation and sort shapes but has to stop the conversation when the shapes change to words (5)

Mark Scheme For full marks students must refer to the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the phonological loop and they must fully engage with the scenario. According to the WMM there is more than one component in the STM. The phonological loop processes verbal information and is a temporary storage for speech based information and allows subvocal rehearsal of auditory input. The visuo-spatial sketchpad is a temporary storage for visual information such as shapes and spatial awareness. (2)When Jamal is sorting shapes he can have a conversation with his friend as well because he is using two separate components (VSS for shape sorting and phonological loop for the conversation)(1) However, when the shapes change to words this puts too much pressure on the limited capacity of his phonological loop so he has to stop the conversation.(1) Baddeley said each component has limited capacity and using the same component for two different tasks would result in mistakes being made. (1)

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Types of LTM Episodic Semantic Procedural Knowledge about the world Declarative Knowing that Personal experiences Details of the event, the emotion and context Knowledge about the world Facts, concepts, concepts, language Not declarative Knowing how Acquired through repetition and practice Automatic

Types of LTM Semantic storing information about the world.  This includes knowledge about the meaning of words, as well as general knowledge. For example, London is the capital of England. It involves conscious thought and is declarative. Procedural knowing how to do things, i.e. memory of motor skills.  It does not involve conscious (i.e. it’s unconscious - automatic) thought and is not declarative.  For example, how to ride a bicycle. Episodic storing information about events (i.e. episodes) that we have experienced in our lives.  It involves conscious thought and is declarative.  An example would be a memory of our 1st day at school.

Card sort activity Key words Extension Write definitions of the key words in your key word booklet. Make sure you put them in the context of types of LTM Card sort activity Key words Declarative, non-declarative, conscious recollection, automatic, time stamped, implicit, explicit

How do we know this? Episodic – hippocampus And frontal lobe Complete the task on page 13 and 14 of your workbook up to the matching task. Help needed? Use the text book, another student, teacher. How do we know this? Episodic – hippocampus And frontal lobe Semantic – temporal Lobe Procedural – cerebellum This supports the different kinds of LTM and has been discovered using brain scanning techniques.

LTM: evaluation

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet First Date Driving in my car Swimming Miller’s magic number The names of other students I was at work when I heard the news about 9/11 On my first day in the sixth form I fell over in the common room

Further Research Support The case study of HM HM could actually lay down new LTM’s but not new semantic or episodic memories. You can try out the task he was required to do

Activity: Use the tripartite division of long-term memory to evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory as proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)(3 marks) The Multi-store model (MSM) suggests that there is only one store for LTM, however, evidence has shown that there are at least three different types of LTM (I mark). Additionally, the evidence for this comes from biological research showing localisation differences in the brain when we recall different types of memories, for example, the hippocampus for forming new semantic and episodic memories (2 marks). Based on the strong scientific evidence, it is suggested that the original concept of LTM is oversimplified in the MSM, and should be replaced with the other concepts of episodic, semantic and procedural memory (3 marks).

Bronze, silver and Gold You have been give the ‘Evidence’ part of your PEEL paragraph To evaluate you need two points. Evaluation points have been labelled gold, silver and bronze. Make two into full PEEL points Write in the space in workbook

Evidence HM was taught a new motor skill (tracing lines on a mirror drawing task). Initially his performance was very poor, but he gradually improved. Several days later, HM was tested again. He was able to perform the task as well as he previously could, although he had no recollection of having done the task before.

Point Many case studies have demonstrated that there are different long-term memory stores For example, Corkin (1968) studied a brain-damage patient known as HM .

Evidence HM was taught a new motor skill (tracing lines on a mirror drawing task). Initially his performance was very poor, but he gradually improved. Several days later, HM was tested again. He was able to perform the task as well as he previously could, although he had no recollection of having done the task before.

Link This finding give a strong indication that damage to specific areas of the brain leave the patients with deficits in one or more types of long term memory, whilst leaving other long-term memory stores intact, this offers support for the biological basis of separate long-term stores

Cohen and Squire suggest that semantic and episodic memory should be understood as the same type of memory, called ‘declarative memory’, and research by Kan et al (2009) found that there was interdependence between episodic and semantic memory

Other researchers disagree with Tulving’s three distinctions of long term memory Cohen and Squire suggest that semantic and episodic memory should be understood as the same type of memory, called ‘declarative memory’, and research by Kan et al (2009) found that there was interdependence between episodic and semantic memory Whether there are two or three types (or more) of LTM, LTM may be important when attempting to help people recover their cognitive functions after illnesses such as stokes.

Exam Q Describe what is meant by the terms episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory (6 marks) Explain one difference between semantic memory and procedural memory. (2 marks) Describe and evaluate different types of long term memory (12 marks)

Activity Describe and evaluate different types of long term memory (12 marks) WWW: What are the strengths? EBI: What improvements can you make to the answer?