... completely independent systems? This essay will examine some of the empirical evidence for and against the proposal of an episodic-semantic distinction, and highlight some of the ways in which much of this research is flawed. One piece of evidence in support of a semantic-episodic distinction has been provided by Kihlstrom (1980), who demonstrated dissociations between episodic memory and semantic memory by using hypnosis to create different brain states in his participants. In the experiment, the participants were first classified in terms of the degree to which they were susceptible to hypnosis. Under hypnosis, the participants repeatedly learnt a list of 16 words. They were then administered with a post hypnotic suggestion that when they awakened from hypnosis they would not remember the list of words until given a reversibility cue by the experimenter. On being awakened from hypnosis, the participants completed an episodic and semantic memory task connected to the list ...

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