Understanding Declarative, Procedural, and Long-Term Memory

Declarative Memory (Knowing What)

Declarative (knowing what). This memory stores information and knowledge of events. These facts and memories form the body of knowledge of a person and allow us to express our thoughts.

Types of Declarative Memory

There are two types of declarative memory:

• Episodic Memory

  It is the personal memory that allows us to remember dates, facts, or experienced episodes at a specific time and place. It stores life events and also the circumstances where the knowledge was acquired. The source is episodic memory and sensory perception; the information contained is organized in time.

• Semantic Memory

  Stores the knowledge of language and the world, entirely independent of the circumstances of its learning. Cultural understanding is the source of semantic memory. It can retrieve information without reference to the time or place at which the knowledge was acquired. It is almost immune to forgetfulness, as language and other skills are very durable.

Within declarative memory, we can include Explicit Memory (intentional), which includes learning about people, places, and events that we can relate verbally and represent a conscious awareness.

Procedural Memory (Knowing How)

Procedural (knowing how). It is the memory of abilities or skills and knowledge stored on how to do things. This knowledge is acquired through conditioning or repeated experiences, and once established, it is unconscious.

In procedural memory, we can include Implicit Memory. Implicit memory is incidental; we can learn things without realizing it and without further.

Long-Term Memory (LTM) Structure and Capacity

The Long-Term Memory contains our surveys of the physical world, of social and cultural reality, our autobiographical memories, language, concepts, and meanings GOD. Here, information is well organized, facilitating its access when appropriate.

The information is semantic for LTM when the material is verbal, and visual when it involves figures or graphics. LTM has an unlimited capacity; all information that one wants can be stored, but retrieval is not guaranteed. It is a permanent storage structure, but its contents can be maintained for different time periods.