In an important essay from 1972, Tulving first clearly defined the limits of a field of study that in recent decades has been the center of intense research activity: this new object of study was semantic memory. Since then, in the psychological and neuropsychological field, semantic memory is understood as the set of knowledge that allows us to interpret words and things.
Thanks to semantic memory we attribute meaning to the objects of experience, and its place in the field of cognitive functions is of utmost importance if we take into account that it is involved in operations such as understanding language and recognizing things. around us.
In this Psychology-Online article, we will see then What is semantic memory, its characteristics and some exercises to improve it.
What is semantic memory
The semantic memory is that warehouse long-term memory accessible to consciousness and specialized in the acquisition of information about facts, episodes and abstract knowledge about the world. It represents an advanced stage in evolutionary terms as it emerges with the vertebrates, and in man it takes shape only late during ontogenetic development.
In detail, semantic memory is the part of declarative memory which refers to general knowledge about the world, for example the price of an object, the president of the Spanish Parliament, the content learned at school. Indeed, a characteristic of semantic memory is the ability to verbally describe the characteristics of a known object, of a place in which a certain experience has taken place, or to express subjective experiences.
Semantic memory is necessary both for the production and understanding of language and for correct interaction with the extraverbal world, of which an example is the use of commonly used objects. Thanks to the features stored in our semantic memory we can categorize objects in the world and make sense of words of natural languages.
If you want to know all the typologies, we recommend the following article about them.
Characteristics of semantic memory
The essence of semantic memory is that its content is not tied to any particular instance of experience, as in episodic memory. Instead, what is stored in semantic memory is the “essence” of the experience, an abstract structure which applies to a wide variety of experiential objects and delineates the categorical and functional relationships between these objects. Therefore, a complete theory of semantic memory must take into account not only the representational structure of such an “essence” but also the way in which it can be extracted from experience. Several models of semantic memory have been proposed:
- Network models (TLC, semantic networks).
- Feature models.
- Association Models (SAM).
- Statistical models (LSA).
Difference between semantic and episodic memory
To illustrate the , Tulving proposes a summary of very simple and very clear examples that the phenomenologist can appropriate; some are taken from everyday experience, others from laboratory experience:
The following statements are based on memory information stored in the episodic memory:
- I remember seeing a flash of light a short time ago, followed by a loud noise seconds later.
- Last year, on my summer vacation, I met a retired captain who knew more jokes than anyone I’ve ever met.
- I remember I have an appointment with a student at 9:30 in the morning.
- One of the words I know I saw on the first list I studied was “legend.”
- I know the word “dax” on the list was “frigid.”
The examples of episodic memory are followed by as many examples of semantic memory. Now let’s look at some examples of the type of information handled by the information system. semantic memory:
- I remember that the chemical formula of common kitchen salt is Nacl.
- I know that summers are usually quite hot in Kathmandu.
- I know that the name of the month after June is July, if we consider them in the order in which they are presented on the calendar.
- I know that the uncertainty of an event that has five equiprobable outcomes is 2,322 bits.
- I think the association between “table” and “chair” is stronger than the association between “table” and “nose.”
In summary, Semantic memory is that which refers to facts or information of a general nature, while episodic memory is that which refers to particular events (that is, episodes) in one’s own life.. Furthermore, unlike episodic memory, semantic memory is not personal but common to all who speak the same language; For example, the memory “man is a mammal” is part of semantic memory, while the memory “in elementary school I learned that man is a mammal” is part of episodic memory (and in particular autobiographical memory). .
Semantic memory alterations
What causes semantic memory loss? Let’s see why there may be a failure in semantic memory:
- The semantic dementia It is a disorder associated with semantic memory, a language disorder characterized by a deterioration in the understanding and recognition of words. Disabilities include difficulties generating familiar words, difficulties naming objects, and difficulties with visual recognition.
- The semantic aphasias There are three of them, and they are characterized by disturbances of the semantic system causing typical errors in the production phase: semantic Wernicke’s aphasia, sensory transcortical aphasia, Luria’s dynamic aphasia.
- The Alzheimer disease It is (also) a disorder of semantic memory, which results in errors in the description and naming of objects. Learn more about him.
- The alteration of semantic memory is observed in several pathologies, such as Mental retardationin the dementiasin the psychosisin the epilepsy focal temporal lobe.
In the following article, we talk about the .
Exercises to improve semantic memory
How to improve? Let’s look at some semantic memory exercises for adults and young people:
- Put in the categories. Subjects are asked to classify the material presented element by element, that is, to classify it into previously indicated categories. The difficulty of the exercises depends on the number of categories in which the material is requested to be organized and its familiarity for the subjects.
- Organize the categories. Another way to work on semantic memory. People are asked to organize a series of items into independently identified categories. The progression of difficulty of the exercises depends on the same conditions indicated for the first level: number of categories and familiarity of the material.
- Complete the categories. Subjects are asked to find other elements that can be inserted into already organized categories. The difficulty of the exercises becomes progressively increasing in relation to the degree of familiarity and concreteness of the material (frequency of use and image value).
- Complete the story. Subjects are presented with incomplete stories. You are asked to complete them by adding an element to choose from several alternatives. The difficulty of the exercises depends on the type of story presented (figurative or written, concrete or abstract, etc.) and the number of alternatives provided.
- Build the story. Another way to improve semantic memory is as follows: subjects are presented with several unrelated items (pictures, names, etc.) and asked to construct a story about them. The difficulty of the exercises depends on the type of elements (more or less concrete and relatable) and their number.
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Bibliography
- Centorrino, S., Saieva, M.A., Santucci, S., Capobianchi, M., Zannino, G.D. (2009). Treinstatement of the TRICS semantic component. Milan: Springer-Verlag.
- Pinel, JPJ, Barnes, SJ (2018). Psychobiology. Milan: Edra.
- Zannino, G.D. (2003). Il semantic disturbance. Theoretical framework, valuation and treatment. Milan: Springer-Verlag.