Tulving's memory.

Reviews the book, Elements of Episodic Memory by Endel Tulving (1983). The book is organized into three major sections presenting, in turn, a discussion of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory (Chapters 2-6), an outline of a general framework (Chapters 7-9), and an application of the framework to experiments (Chapters 10-14). In the first major section, Tulving goes to great lengths to clarify the distinction between the two memory systems. Semantic memory is knowledge of the world, including language, and could be called generic or categorical knowledge. Episodic memory, in contrast, is recollection in which the recollector is part of the memory, and is thus personal and autobiographical memory for events occurring in particular places at particular times. In addition to clarifying the distinction, Tulving directly addresses some possible misinterpretations. For example, the episodic and semantic systems are interdependent rather than exclusive, and they share many properties that are properties of memory in general. Additionally, the two systems are not exhaustive, but rather are two facets of an overall memory system that includes, for instance, procedural memory as an important system. Tulving thus presents the episodic and semantic systems as but two interdependent pieces from some as yet unknown picture of the whole memory system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More on the distinction between episodic and semantic memories.

Responds to E. Tulving's (see record 1986-19162-001) reply to the critique of the present authors and a colleague (see record 1986-19143-001) regarding episodic/semantic distinction of memory by asserting that the classification methods proposed by Tulving may be detrimental to the advancement of theory and that whole domains of inquiry should not be excluded from the usual criteria of experimental psychology. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do scopolamine and lorazepam have dissociable effects on human memory systems? A dose–response study with normal volunteers.

Scopolamine (SP) and lorazepam have different pharmacological actions but exert very similar effects on people's performance on a wide range of cognitive and psychomotor tasks. Recent research suggests that their effects may be dissociable on perceptual priming. The present study compared the acute effects of SP (0.3 and 0.6 mg sc), lorazepam (1.0 and 2.0 mg orally), and placebo across the range of E. Tulving's memory "systems" (1985; E. Tulving & D. L. Schacter, 1990) and on indices of arousal and attention. The authors obtained a similar, dose-dependent time course of sedation and attentional impairment following active drugs. The effects of SP and lorazepam were qualitatively indistinguishable on tasks tapping working, episodic, semantic, and procedural memory. However, they had a differential effect on word-stem completion: Whereas SP did not affect this, lorazepam produced a deleterious effect that was not dose dependent. This difference between SP and lorazepam on word-stem completion appears to be over and above the drugs' effects on sedation and attention. The authors' findings are discussed in terms of possible distinct neurobiological systems mediating different memory systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference; and The Oxford handbook of memory.

Reviews the books, Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference edited by Endel Tulving (see record 2000-07362-000) and The Oxford handbook of memory edited by Endel Tulving and Fergus M. Craik (see record 2000-00111-000). Memory, consciousness, and the brain (MCB) is an outgrowth of a conference organized by the editor and his wife, and held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The organization of the book, accurately described by the editor as "largely illusory" (p. xv), blocks the 25 topic chapters into sections labeled Memory (11 chapters), Consciousness (7 chapters), and The Brain (7 chapters). The editor's hope is that the book will be useful as an introduction to representative research currently being conducted at the boundaries of memory, consciousness, and the brain. To what extent has this objective been achieved? The book certainly serves up a broad menu of topics. The reader looking for something intriguing in the way of research on memory and consciousness in the brain is likely to find it in this volume. What are MCB's weaknesses? The main sin is something that comes with the territory of all conference volumes: uneveness in quality, readability, and organizations, and uncertainty about the audience to be reached by each of the chapters. Regarding The Oxford handbook of memory (OHM), this book describes the growth of memory research from its nadir in the 1950s to the present, and presents summaries of contemporary scientific knowledge about a variety of memory topics. The focus is human memory (although the discussion of brain-memory relations is sometimes based on research with nonhuman primates) as studied from the perspectives of experimental cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, theory and modeling, and the ecology of memory. Within this compass, the editors have attempted to ensure coverage of the current major theories, findings, and methods of memory. In the editors' words, the volume is intended to be "a major reference source for people who want to get started in the field, or who wish to check things outside their own regional area" (p. vii). Not only does the book hit its target, we expect that even specialists will benefit from the coverage of subjects in which they have expertise. For now, the OHM is the gold standard and all memory professionals are in the debt of the editors and authors for its existence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APF Gold Medal Award: Endel Tulving.

Presents a biography of E. Tulving, the 1994 recipient of the American Psychological Foundation (APF) Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychological Science. Tulving is cited for his early studies in cognitive psychology on subjective organization, his experimental and theoretical analyses of retrieval processes and encoding–retrieval interactions, his delineation of the elements of episodic memory, and his current pursuit of memory systems and their anatomical substrates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A structural equation modeling approach to the multiple memory systems question.

Used linear structural equation modeling to test 2 models of declarative memory. A unitary model was compared with the semantic-episodic theory proposed by E. Tulving (e.g., 1972, 1983). The data consisted of performance scores of 300 Ss on 14 cognitive tests. The results of 2 sets of analyses suggest rejection of the unitary model but not the 2-factor model. Moreover, nested comparisons of the models revealed that the 2-factor model provided a significantly better fit to data than did the unitary model. Results support a division of declarative memory into memory for episodic information and memory for facts. This finding is discussed in terms of (1) different underlying memory systems mediating performance on semantic and episodic tests and (2) differences in the retrieval strategies that are required for accessing semantic and episodic information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The episodic–semantic memory distinction and paired associate learning.

39 senile dementia patients (mean age 69.1 yrs) completed the Associate Learning subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, and orthogonal measures of episodic and semantic memory were developed through factor analysis. As predicted, scores on the semantic factor were related only to learning high-associate word pairs; scores on the episodic factor were related to both high- and low-associate learning. Findings provide an interpretive framework for the Associate Learning subtest and support E. Tulving's (1972) 2-store model of long-term memory. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A critical evaluation of the semantic-episodic distinction.

Presents opposing evidence to claims by E. Tulving (1983; also see record 1985-03110-001) that a wide range of evidence supports the distinction between episodic and semantic memory systems. Findings that invalidate and contradict many of the distinguishing features and interpretations of the supporting experiments cited by Tulving are discussed. It is argued that the question of whether there are 2 separate memory systems cannot be answered without a specific theory about the differences between the systems. (73 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How many memory systems? Evidence from aging.

The present research tested Tulving's (1985) ternary memory theory. Young (ages 19–32) and older (ages 63–80) adults were given procedural, semantic, and episodic memory tasks. Repetition, lag, and codability were manipulated in a picture-naming task, followed by incidental memory tests. Relative to young adults, older adults exhibited lower levels of recall and recognition, but these episodic measures increased similarly as a function of lag and repetition in both age groups. No age-related deficits emerged in either semantic memory (vocabulary, latency slopes, naming errors and tip-of-the-tongue responses) or procedural memory (repetition priming magnitude and rate of decline). In addition to the age by memory task dissociations, the manipulation of codability produced slower naming latencies and more naming errors (semantic memory), yet promoted better recall and recognition (episodic memory). Finally, a factor analysis of 11 memory measures revealed three distinct factors, providing additional support for a tripartite memory model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

CPA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science (SCP Prix honorant une contribution hors-pair a la psychologie en tant que science): 1983.

Presents a citation for Endel Tulving, recipient of the 1983 CPA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science. Dr. Tulving's writing and experimentation in the field of human memory has had a major impact on experimental psychology, and a brief personal and professional biography is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Code duelling.

Reviews the book, Mental representations: A dual coding approach by Allan Paivio (1986). Is there a common code that underlies all thought? The claim that there exists such an abstract language of thought, distinct from natural languages and imagery, has a long and impressive history. In this book, the author continues his longstanding argument against the existence of such a common abstract language of the mind. The chapters on episodic memory, bilingualism, and image manipulation give excellent accounts of experimental results and provide the foundation for a defense of dual coding theory that should intimidate all but the most dedicated adherents to the common code. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cortical networks implicated in semantic and episodic memory: common or unique?

While previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that semantic and episodic memory tasks activate different cortical regions, they never compared regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns associated with semantic and episodic memory within the same experimental design. In this study, we used H2(15)O PET to study subjects in the course of semantic and episodic memory tasks. rCBF was measured in 9 normal volunteers during a resting baseline condition and two cognitive tasks. In the semantic categorisation task subjects heard a list of concrete words and had to respond to words belonging to the "animals" or "food" category. In the episodic recognition task subjects heard a list of concrete words, half "old", i.e. belonging to the list of the semantic categorisation task, and half "new", i.e. presented for the first time. Subjects had to respond to the "old" words. Both tasks were compared to a resting condition. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Compared to the resting condition, the semantic tasks, activated the superior temporal gyri bilaterally, the left frontal cortex, and right premotor cortex. The episodic tasks activated the left superior temporal gyrus, the frontal cortex bilaterally, and the right inferior parietal cortex. Compared to the episodic memory tasks, the semantic memory tasks activated the superior temporal/insular cortex bilaterally and the right premotor cortex. Compared to the semantic memory tasks, the episodic memory tasks activated the right frontal cortex. These results suggest that cortical networks implicated in semantic and episodic memory show both common and unique regions, with the right prefrontal cortex being the neural correlate specific of episodic remembering.     

The influence of semantic encoding on recognition memory in Alzheimer's disease

Within the framework of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory, it has been argued that these two memory systems are organised in a hierarchical way. The hierarchical hypothesis assumes that episodic memory is a specific subsystem of semantic memory and therefore implies that episodic memory cannot exist without semantic memory. If this hypothesis is correct, it should be expected that patients with impaired semantic memory also have impaired episodic memory. In the present study, two experiments investigated the influence of semantic encoding on recognition memory performance in a population of 20 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 18 normal controls. Both experiments assessed recognition memory for semantically-related items. In Experiment 2, but not in Experiment 1, subjects were explicitly instructed to make a semantic association between the items. Alzheimer's disease patients were impaired, compared to the normal controls, on the recognition memory performance of both experiments. The ability to make a semantic association between two items was significantly and positively correlated with the subjects' performance on the recognition tasks. A further analysis showed that patients who were impaired on the semantic association task did significantly worse on the recognition task of Experiment 2 than normal controls and patients who were unimpaired on the semantic association task. These findings are discussed in the context of memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease, and are interpreted as supporting the view that episodic memory for an item is affected by the level of semantic awareness of that same item.     

Confidence-accuracy inversions in scene recognition: a remember-know analysis

S. E. Clark (1997) offered a modified signal-detection explanation of the confidence-accuracy inversions observed in E. Tulving's (1981) experiments. In addition to replicating E. Tulving (1981), we had participants make "remember-familiar" judgments. Confidence and accuracy dissociated across subjective reports. Response confidence differed only for judgments based on familiarity, whereas accuracy differed only for "remember" responses. S. E. Clark's model does not predict this, nor can it mimic "remember" performance across all conditions. We propose that although "knowing" can be accommodated within an equal variance signal-detection account, "remembering" is governed by contextual constraints that influence the distinctiveness of information upon which participants rely during reports. The current paradigm is a pictorial analogue to H. L. Roediger and K. B. McDermott's paradigm (1995) in that participants claim to explicitly remember thematically related items that were not actually seen during study.     

Review of Motivation and morale in industry.

Reviews the book "Motivation and morale in industry" by Morris S. Viteles (see record 1954-05049-000). Viteles' well known "Industrial Psychology" was first published in 1932, and since that time has been considered a classic, if not the classic text in the field. In many respects, Motivation and morale in industry is a continuation of "Industrial Psychology" (see record 1932-04985-000.) To a considerable extent Viteles has repeated his earlier pattern, but with a shift in emphasis from the individual to the group. "Motivation and Morale in Industry" is divided into five parts. The first, consisting of three chapters, is introductory in nature. It deals primarily with the economic man and the inadequacy of the concept that man can live by bread alone. The fifth part, consisting of four chapters, summarizes and draws together the remainder of the book as well as makes applications and recommendations. The remaining three parts, totaling sixteen chapters, comprise the bulk of the book. They deal with motivational theory, experimental studies, and employee attitude surveys. In a sense this book is too much a book of readings in motivation and morale in industry. Many of the studies are weak, but Viteles has done an excellent service in collecting these studies in such way as to illustrate the primitive status of the field. Frequently he has added his penetrating insights relative to such studies. Nevertheless, the reviewer regretted that Viteles had not taken a more directly critical view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic factors in episodic recognition of common odors in early and late adulthood: a review

Information on long-term memory for common odors is discussed. Olfactory parameters (i.e. familiarity, recognition, identification) and their relationship to current memory theory are highlighted. Emphasis is focused on the impact of semantic memory on episodic odor recognition. In contrast to previous research suggesting that verbal/semantic factors play a negligible role in olfactory memory, the present review indicates that episodic odor information is mediated by factors that can be subsumed under the rubric of semantic memory. Specific odor knowledge, such as perceived familiarity and identifiability, is strongly and positively related to episodic odor memory performance. Age-related impairments in various olfactory and cognitive parameters and the potential detrimental effects in episodic odor memory are discussed. Finally, the issue of whether olfactory memory should be conceptualized as an independent process, or whether it shares characteristics with memory for verbal and visual information, is addressed.     

Confidence–accuracy inversions in scene recognition: A remember–know analysis.

S. E. Clark (1997) offered a modified signal-detection explanation of the confidence–accuracy inversions observed in E. Tulving's (1981) experiments. In addition to replicating E. Tulving (1981), we had participants make "remember–familiar" judgments. Confidence and accuracy dissociated across subjective reports. Response confidence differed only for judgments based on familiarity, whereas accuracy differed only for "remember" responses. S. E. Clark's model does not predict this, nor can it mimic "remember" performance across all conditions. We propose that although "knowing" can be accommodated within an equal variance signal detection account, "remembering" is governed by contextual constraints that influence the distinctiveness of information upon which participants rely during reports. The current paradigm is a pictorial analogue to H. L. Roediger and K. B. McDermott's paradigm (1995) in that participants claim to explicitly remember thematically related items that were not actually seen during study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Constructive evolution: Origins and development of Piaget's thought.

Reviews the book, Constructive evolution: Origins and development of Piaget's thought by Michael Chapman (see record 1988-97990-000). Canadian developmental psychologists have been among the harshest critics, most articulate supporters, and most creative extenders of Piaget's theory. Michael Chapman's book is in this reflective and interpretive tradition. Chapman's primary goal in the book is neither to criticize, support, nor extend Piaget's theory (although he does some of each), but to clarify the meaning of the theory, and to specify its domain of application. Chapman does this by tracing the growth of Piaget's thinking using Piaget's autobiographical papers as a map. The first six chapters comprise Chapman's historical analysis, which begins with Piaget's adolescence, a point in life where Piaget was later to say that cognitive development ends (although he was to retract the claim still later in his career). In the last two chapters of the book, Chapman uses his historical analysis to clarify the philosophical and psychological significance of Piaget's theory. Chapman's book is an excellent integration of Piaget's theory in that it places the theory in the context of the questions that motivated it. But for all the clarity that Chapman's historical analysis brings to Piaget's thought, the analysis opens a number of new questions. What Chapman has done successfully is to provide a view of the nature, limits, and future of Piagetian theory by examining its origins and evolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)