Flashbulb memory - ERQ

Question 1

What does Flashbulb memory predict?

Answer 1

Memories of highly emotional events will be exceptionally clear, detailed, and accurate
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These events will be remembered as vividly as a photograph, hence the term “flashbulb” memory, as if a camera’s flash captures the moment perfectly in memory

​People will remember all the details surrounding the event, such as the time and place of the event, who they were with, and so forth
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Brown & Kulik suggested that there may be a special neural mechanism for flashbulb memories - in other words, a flashbulb memory might involve a different brain process than an ordinary memory

Question 2

What inspired Brown & Kulik’s research?

Answer 2

The event which inspired flashbulb memory theory was the assassination of the American president John F. Kennedy in 1963. JFK was a hugely popular, charismatic and handsome president, and news of his assassination shocked the country. Years later, many people said they clearly and vividly remembered the moment when they first heard the news of JFK’s assassination, as if it happened yesterday.

Question 3

The two mechanisms in Flashbulb memory

Answer 3

The mechanisms of formation

The mechanisms of maintenance

Question 4

Definition of Flashbulb Memory

Answer 4

Flashbulb Memories is a special kind of emotional memory, which refers to vivid and detailed (photographic-like) memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as though with the help of a ‘camera’s flash.’

Question 5

Introduction of FBM

Answer 5

One theory of how emotion may affect the cognitive process of memory is Flashbulb Memory (FBM) suggested by Brown & Kulik (1977).

Theory of FBM involves how emotion affects memory by enhancing it.

Question 6

Introduction of Brown & Kulik

Answer 6

FBM was firstly demonstrated by Brown and Kulik in their main study occurring in 1977.

Question 7

The mechanisms of formation

Answer 7

If an event is surprising and personally consequential, it will be emotionally arousing and will trigger a photographic representation. In other words, for flashbulb memories to be formed, the witnessed event needs to satisfy two conditions: it should be unexpected and it should create a strong emotional reaction (which occurs if the event is personally significant).

Question 8

The mechanisms of maintenance

Answer 8

After the events been imprinted in memory, it needs to be sustained.

Maintenance of flashbulb memories is achieved through overt and covert rehearsal.

Overt rehearsal includes conversations with other people in which the events reconstructed.

Covert rehearsal is replacing the event in one’s own memory.

Question 9

Aim of Brown and Kulik

Answer 9

Investigate whether people have unusually vivid memories of highly emotional events

Question 10

Procedure of Brown and Kulik

Answer 10

Participants in the study were 80 Americans, half of which were white, the other half African-American
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Participants were asked to recall assassinations of famous people, like JFK. They were also asked to recall memories of an emotionally intensepersonal event, such asthe unexpected death of a family member

Question 11

Results of Brown and Kulik

Answer 11

Nearly all participants had very vivid memories of JFK’s assassination, including where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news
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African-Americans also had vivid memories of the assassination of key civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr, who were important figures in the fight for racial equality
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Most participants (73 out of 80) also had at least one exceptionally vivid memory of an emotionally intense personal event, the most common being the death of a parent

Question 12

Conclusion of Brown and Kulik

Answer 12

Emotionally intense events are remembered in great detail, clearlyand accurately

Question 13

​Evaluation of Brown and Kulik

Answer 13

This study supports the theory of flashbulb memory, demonstrating the link between emotion and memory. African-Americans had a greater emotional response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, hence remembered it better
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Although the participants seemed to remember these events clearly and vividly, the study could not verify whether the memories wereaccurate or not
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Perhaps people tell the story of JFK’s assassination so many times, hence thememory seems detailed, but perhaps the detailschange over time. People may “fill in” missing details based on their best guess, as schema theory suggests

Question 14

Criticism of Flashbulb memory

Answer 14

Not all psychologists have been convinced by the theory of flashbulb memory - especially the claim that flashbulb memories are exceptionally accurate.

Question 15

Argument of Neisser

Answer 15

Neisser has suggested that the reason why people seem to remember certain events in great detail is simply because theyrehearse the storyby telling it over and over. When an important event occurs - like the assassination of JFK - people often share their memories of the event with friends, family members, and so on. Over time, these memoriesmay become distorted or embellished, as the detailschange slightly with each telling.

Question 16

How did Neisser put the theory to the test?

Answer 16

Neisser waited for another unexpected, shocking event to occur. In 1986, the space shuttleChallengertook flight, watched eagerly by millions of Americans on television. Tragically, just 73 seconds into flight, the space shuttle broke apart, killing all crew members on board. This tragedy was witnessed on live TV by millions of people, and was a huge shock to the country. Neisser decided to researchif people would form flashbulb memories of the Challenger disaster - and, crucially, whether these memories would be stored accurately.

Question 17

Aim of Neisser & Harsch

Answer 17

Assess the accuracy of flashbulb memories

Question 18

Procedure of Neisser & Harsch

Answer 18

Within 24 hours of the Challenger disaster, participants (who were all American psychology students) filled in a survey with 7 questions regarding where they were, and what they were doing, when they heard the news of the disaster
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2.5 years later, participants filled in the same questionnaire again. The researchers compared the two versions of the questionnaire to see if participants’ memories would still be accurate, over two years later. Participants were also asked how confident they were (on a scale of 1 to 5) in their memory of the event

Question 19

Results of Neisser & Harsch

Answer 19

For most participants, there were significant discrepancies between the two questionnaires, indicating that memory of the event had become distorted. Out of 7 questions, only an average of 2.95 were answered identically tothe original survey
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Despite the poor memory of the event, most participants felt confident that they could remember the Challenger disaster accurately, with an average confidence rating of 4.17

Question 20

Conclusion of Neisser & Harsch

Answer 20

Although flashbulb memories may seemdetailed and vivid, they may not always be accurate. Even when a person claims to remember an event confidently and in great detail, there is still a good chance their memory is incorrect

Question 21

Evaluation of Neisser & Harsch

Answer 21

The participants in the study were all American university students, so generalizability of the findings is low. Perhaps people from other cultures or age groups might have better (or worse) memories
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The study involved memory of a real-life event, so ecological validity is high
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​Although the Challenger disaster was certainly a shocking event, it did not have much personal relevance for the students.In other words, the Challenger disaster was unlikely to change the students’ lives in any meaningful way. Perhaps flashbulb memories of truly emotional, life-changing personal events - like the death of a parent - would be remembered more accurately

Question 22

What does Brown and Kulik support?

Answer 22

This study therefore supports the flashbulb memory theory as it shows that emotionally intense events are remembered in a lot of detail and very accurately. It was especially shown by African Americans who showed a greater emotional response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr compared to white participants as they were more impacted and had a closer link to this particular event therefore suggesting that it needs to be personally significant.

Question 23

Issue with Brown and Kulik

Answer 23

The study also has many issues in regards to supporting the flashbulb memory as even though the participants seemed to remember the events clearly and vividly, their answers were not actually verified for their accuracy and therefore it cannot support that flashbulb memories are more accurate compared to normal memories.

Another issue is that perhaps had told the story of JFK’s assassination so many times, that thememory seems detailed, but perhaps the detailschange over time.

People may have filled in the missing details based on their best guess, as Bartlett’s schema theory suggests which explains that our past experiences affect the way we recall new memories.

This therefore would suggest that these memories could have been affected by overt rehearsal which means that conversations with other people leads to the events being reconstructed.

Question 24

Issue with both Brown and Kulik and Neisser and Harsch

Answer 24

An issue with both studies in terms of the flashbulb memory is that, currently there is no biological evidence that the flashbulb memory exists.

Question 25

Aim of Phelps

Answer 25

Investigate which brain regions play a role in flashbulb memory

Question 26

Procedure of Phelps

Answer 26

Using the event of the 9/11 where terrorists hijacked a number of airplanes and deliberately crashed them with New York’s World Trade Center.

Their procedure was for participants who were in New York City at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to recall their memories of the event while having their brain scanned by an fMRI machine.

The participants were also asked to rate how detailed and vivid their memories were of the 9/11 attacks and other events of that summer.

Question 27

Conclusion of flashbulb memory

Answer 27

In conclusion, the studies suggest that there are memories that have strong emotion and that the person can have a lot of detail.

In addition, there is biological evidence for it which suggests that there are memories that trigger a bigger reaction in the amygdala compared to others.

However, a key issue is that it is uncertain whether flashbulb memories are actually accurate as overt rehearsal might have an effect.

In addition Phelps suggests that it is only first hand witnesses that experience a flashbulb memory which therefore makes it not that many people.

A strength of the theory is that after Brown and Kulik’s study, there has been a lot of research about it, however the studies presented here, are inconclusive on certain parts of the theory.

Question 28

Results of Phelps

Answer 28

The results showed that only participants who werevery closeto the attacks reported very detailed and vivid memories of 9/11.

The memoryof those further away from the attacks was less detailed, as were other memories from that summer.

Therefore indicating that flashbulb memories are only likely to occur when witnessing a shocking event first-hand but not if they are seeing it from the distance or on the news.

Participants who were close to the 9/11 attacks also showed increased activity in theamygdalawhen recalling the event.

The amygdala is known to be involved in emotion as the amygdala is involved in flashbulb memories, suggesting that strong emotions result in vivid, detailed memories.

Question 29

Conclusion of Phelps

Answer 29

The study therefore supports the theory of flashbulb memory, as intense emotions are linked to detailed, vivid memories.

Furthermore, the study supports Brown and Kulik’s hypothesis that a special brain mechanism is involved in flashbulb memory.

On the other hand, this study suggests that flashbulb memories are only created for personally relevant events which are experienced first hand, which Brown and Kulik did not suggest.

Question 30

Issue with Phelps

Answer 30

A weakness of the study is that this was a small-scale study, only involving 24 participants, so should be replicated with great numbers ofparticipants and for different events and the study did not verify the accuracy of participants’ memories of 9/11.