effect of emotion on memory Flashcards
FBM
Flashbulb memories - highly detailed vivid snapshots of a moment relevant and shocking news was heard.
A type of autobiographical memory - specific memory related to experiences and life. epsiodic is also an example
They are questioned for not having real-accuracy but rather perceived accuracy
aim of sharot
To discover the biological role on flashbulb memories
participants and research method sharot et al
24 participants who were in new york on 9/11. Recruited through advertisements
Quasi experiment aims to establish a cause and effect relationsip between an independent and dependant variable
reasearch methods and procedure shartot et al
3 years after 9/11 - provided consent and were given money for participation
Put into fMRI
- Shown the word summer or september to have the participant link the word with summer or 9/11
- Shown a word along side this eg - hands, reading, drink, homework
- Summer; served as a baseline of brain activity to evaluate the effect of 9/11 memories
Asked to rate memories for
Vividness
Detail
Confidence
Accuracy
Arousal
results sharot
Only 50% recalled having flashbulb memories. These people tended to be closer to the attack. They also have more written memories
Activation of amyglanda was higher when recalling attack than summer, but only for those closer to attack. The peple futher away had similar amyglanda in both recall.
strengths sharot
fMRI is biological evidence
reliability
weaknesses sharot
- Correlational, no cause and effect
fMRI makes it highly artificial - Fails to explain the people who have vivid memories but wer not close to attack
- Small culturally bias culture. Other research says individualistic cultures are more susceptible toFBM. Low generlizability
aim kullkofsky
to see if there is an influence on flashbulb memory between cultures
participants and experimental style kukofsky
5 countries: china, germany, turkey, uk usa
274 adults
All were identified as middle class individuals
quasi experiment - the iv was not manipulated
procedure kulkofsky
All were given 5 minutes to recall as many memories of public events occurring in their lifetime (at least one year ago)
List was used to make a memory questionnaire
They were asked the following five questions about the event:
- Where were you when you first learned of the event?
- What time of day was it?
- How did you learn about it?
- What were you doing at the time that you learned about it?
- Whom were you with?
They were then asked:
- How nationally or internationally important was the event?
- How personally important was the event?
- How surprising was the event?
- How many times have you talked about the event since it happened?
Questionnaire was translated and back translated; meaning if they were translated by one person to Chinese, a different person would translate them back to make sure.
results kulkofsky
- In collectivistic cultures eg china, the personal importance, and intensity of emission played less of a role in forming a FBM instead group impact may have been a larger part
I- n individualistic cultures FBMs are more likely to form as the event directly impacts them and personal experiences
It was found that national importance was equally related to FBM
strentghs kulkofsky
- Using an interviewer from the cultures helps. This avoids the interviewer effect. They also get to answer in their native language so increasing their ability to recall.
- Using back translation meant that the translation of questions was not a confounding variable. This increases credibility.
weaknesses kulkofsky
- Elocology fallacy meaning that though the participants were from these cultures doesn’t mean they necessarily share the traits of this cultures dimensions
- Etic approach means applying the same method to different cultures, however differences in self report could differ. Eg personal memories may exist but not be reported
brown and kulik aim
to see if surprising and personally significant events may influence FBM
participants and ecepriemntal style B+K
40 Black and 40 white americans
quasi experiment
procedure brown and kulik
- fill out a questionnair on the deaths of public figures such as JFK and martin LK and somone they knew personally
- who were u w
- where where u
- doing what
- how
- how u feel
- how important to ur life
- how muh u talk about
results brown and kulik
90% had significant detail of the day
participants had very detailed memory on loved ones
75% of black ppl rember MLK w FBM whereas 33% white
strengths brown and KULIK
- first attemtp to research FMB
- ## replicable
weaknesses brown and kulik
- no cause and effect
- retrosepctive, asking to recal the past rather than currrent stste of this memory
- level of surprise is unmeasureable
- Social desireability
- sampling bias; only american males
- collectivistic socities are said to have less
