It is important to contrast LTM with other types of memory and understand how it is structured. The knowledge we store in LTM affects our perceptions of the world, and influences what information in the environment we attend to. LTM provides the framework to which we attach new knowledge, and its properties have important implications for instructional design. Characteristics of LTM LTM is stored in networks of schemas. LTM allows retrieval of information decades after it is stored, and the limits of its capacity are not known.
Schemas are mental models of the world.
Psychologists believe that information in LTM is stored in large, interrelated networks of these schemas, which form intricate knowledge structures. Related schemas are linked together, and information that activates one schema also activates ones that are closely linked. This allows relevant knowledge to be called up when information is presented. LTM has a strong influence on perception through top-down processing. This is the process by which our prior knowledge affects how we perceive sensory information.