ElmCore Journal of Educational Psychology October, 2014 | Page 44

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must be presented in such a way that it can be
incorporated into the memory structure.
Long-term memory. As discussed with shortterm memory, long-term memory houses all previous
perceptions, knowledge, and information learned by
an individual, but it is not a static file system that is
used only for information retrieval. Abbot (2002)
suggests that long-term memory “is that more
permanent store in which information can reside in a
dormant state – out of mind and unused – until you
fetch it back into consciousness” (p. 1). In order to
incorporate new information, long-term memory must
be in communication with short-term memory and
must be dynamic. There are several categories of longterm memory, and there are many suggestions as to
how memory units are represented in the mind. While
it seems that it might be sufficient to understand
simply that there are individual units and structures
that exist in long-term memory, the specific way or
ways that information is stored offers extremely
important information. If the knowledge unit is
pictorial rather than verbal, for example, it would
seem to make sense that images would be more easily
and readily stored in memory. If the reverse were true,
information should be presented in verbal constructs.
This oversimplifies the problem, but it is this question
that is at the core of the controversy over memory
storage structures. There are two divisions at issue in
the discussion of long-term memory: the types of
long-term memory and the type of knowledge unit
stored in long-term memory.
Organizations of long-term memory. Today
cognitive psychologists believe that there are at least
different types of information stored in long-term
memory. Each of the memory structures is distinct and
serves a different operational function. However, it is
evident that some type of very specialized
categorization system exists within the human mind.
One of the first to make this idea explicit was Bruner
(as cited in Anderson, 1998b). “Based upon the idea of
categorization, Bruner’s theory states ‘To perceive is
to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn
is to form categories, to make decisions is to
categorize’” (p. 1).
Tulving (1972) was the first to distinguish
between episodic and semantic memory, and all
discussions recognize these two distinct types. Most
researchers now combine these two in a broader
category labeled declarative. Other researchers have
identified additional organizational types. For
example, Abbott lists declarative and procedural while
Huitt (2000), citing the work of Paivio (1971, 1986)
adds imagery to this list. However, Pylyshyn (2002)
states that imagery is not a distinct organizational

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structure, but follows the rules that apply to semantic
and episodic memory.
Both Abbott (2002) and Huitt (2000) define
declarative memory in similar terms. Both refer to
declarative memory as that which can be talked about
or verbalized. It is, then, the sum of stored information
that can be readily retrieved and put into words in
conscious thought and sharing. As previously stated,
declarative memory can be subdivided into both
semantic and episodic memories. These two subtypes
are radically different although they can each be fairly
easily recalled and manipulated. Episodic memory’s
store is centered on personal experience and specific
events. It is entirely circumstantial and it is not
generally used for the processing of new information
except as a sort of backdrop. “Episodic memories are
those which give a subject the sense of remembering
the actual situation, or event” (Eliasmith, 2001). This
type of memory is somewhat like a personal video of a
specific significant day or event, and its parts are not
easily disseminated to characteristics or concepts.
Semantic memory, in contrast, deals with general,
abstract information and can be recalled independently
of how it was learned. It is semantic memory that is
the central focus of most current study because it
houses the concepts, strategies and other structures
th