Flashbulb Memory

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Flashbulb Memory

• IB Syllabus Says
• Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one
  cognitive process
• (i.e. How flashbulb memory theory explains the
  influence of emotion on memory )

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Flashbulb memory

• Originally described by Brown Kulik (1977)
• Exceptionally vivid memories
• Usually of important events with emotional
  significance
• Resistant to forgetting over time
• Debate centres on whether they are a special
  case, or the same as other memories

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Flashbulb memory

• Typical flashbulb events are dramatic,
  unexpected, shocking
• E.g. disasters, deaths of prominent figures (esp.
  if unexpected), momentous events
• World Trade Centre
• Kennedy, Princess Diana
• Fall of Berlin Wall

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Flashbulb memoryThese are the aspects that
Brown and Kulick (1977) propose are remembered
vividly for flashbulb memories

• Where you were
• What you were doing
• How you were informed
• How you reacted
• How others around you reacted
• They propose that there is a biological memory
  mechanism which leads to these exceptionally
  vivid memories

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Flashbulb memory

• Surveys about dramatic events
• Brown Kulik (1977) found US PPs tended to have
  vivid memories of political assassinations
• All PPs good recall of Kennedy, Black PPs better
  recall of Medgar Evers (civil rights worker)
• Shows importance of relevance of the information
  culture seems to influence things
• Shock, arousal also important (physiological
  arousal amygdala)

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• Neisser (1982) proposed that the enduring nature
  of FBM is a result of rehearsal and reworking
  after the event
• We use the conventions of storytelling recounting
  important events FBMs are just as susceptible
  to distortion as other memories.
• Its difficult to check the accuracy of flashbulb
  memories nothing different about them
• E.g Neisser himself was sure he was listening to
  the baseball when pearl harbour was bombed in
  WWII but it couldnt have been possible because
  it wasnt in the baseball season

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Flashbulb memory

• Challenges to concept of FBM
• Neisser Harsch (1992) compared PPs recall of
  Challenger disaster after 24 hours and 2 years
• Found all accounts had changed over time, some
  were wildly inaccurate 40

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• Furthermore, The McCloskey et al. (1988) study
  also proposes that flashbulb memories are not
  special memories (see key study)

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Flashbulb memory

• Platania Hertkorn (1998) recall for death of
  Princess Diana

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Flashbulb memory

• Squire (2000) recall of OJ Simpson verdict

100 50 0
1 mo 12 mo 15 mo 3 years
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Flashbulb memories

• Relatively little evidence for FMBs as a distinct
  memory process
• They feel accurate (we are confident in recall)
  but are just as prone to forgetting change as
  other episodic memories