Key Features Of Long Term Memory

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The study of psychology involves various aspects of memory of which we need to consider. These key features involve the working memory, short-term memory and long-term memory; however I will be primarily focusing on discussing and exploring the significant features incorporated within long-term memory. “Long-term memory is a system or systems assumed to underpin the capacity to store information over long periods of time” (Baddeley, A., Anderson, M. and Eysenck, M. W. (2009). The possible duration for memories to remain in the long-term memory store can be up to an entire lifetime; additionally there has been found to be a clear distinction within the memory store. This distinction is known as explicit (declarative memory) and implicit (non- …show more content…

and Eysenck, M. W. (2009). Explicit or declarative memory is most often used in reference to stereotypical situations that we would generally consider as involving memory; for example meeting someone unexpectedly in a strange place, and being able to recall specific facts about the world (for example being able to recall the meaning of necessary words instantaneously). In contrast to this point, semantic memory (the second additional category) is solely responsible for retaining information about society and the world as a whole and it is a process that requires our conscious thought. This would therefore include knowledge about general information and the meaning of words e.g. knowing that the capital of France is Paris. Endel Tulving (1972) stated that there was a clear distinction within the semantic and episodic processes within the explicit memory. Semantic memory may contain a consistent mental representation of information for areas such as facts and meanings; however it goes beyond this as our semantic memory extends further to attributes such as social norms, taste, colour (for example how one should behave whilst in a public environment such as a park). Explicit memory is most commonly assessed …show more content…

Implicit memory (non-declarative/procedural memory) refers to memory that we retrieve and store unconsciously as we use it when performing tasks and challenges without having to actively think about e.g. walking down a road. After a person commences these tasks once, the motor skills that are required are therefore retained within their implicit memory and are consequently used without any conscious retrieval of

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