FLASHBULB

MEMORY
TO WHAT EXTENT EMOTION AFFECTS MEMORY ?
Flashbulb memory theory

 The theory of Flashbulb memory was first proposed by Brown &

Kulik (1977).
 They defined flashbulb memory as a highly detailed,
exceptionally vivid "snapshot" of the moment when a surprising
and emotionally arousing event happened.
 They postulated the special-mechanism hypothesis, which
argues for the existence of a special biological memory
mechanism that, when triggered by an event exceeding critical
levels of surprise, creates a permanent record of the details and
circumstances surrounding the experience.
 This implies that flashbulb memories have different
characteristics than "ordinary memories." They also argued that
the memories are resistant to forgetting.
WHY DOES IT
HAPPEN ?

 Brown and Kulik suggested that there may be a

special neural mechanism which triggers an
emotional arousal because the event is unexpected
or extremely important.
 At the time, it was only a hypothesis, but it is
supported by modern neuroscience: emotional
events are better remembered than less emotional
events—perhaps because of the critical role of the
amygdala.
 Today the most commonly accepted model of
flashbulb memory is called the importance-driven
model.
 This model emphasizes that personal
consequences determine intensity of emotional
reactions.
 Research in psychology:
Brown and Kulik (1977)

 The original study was based on interviews with 80

participants.
 The participants were given a series of nine events -
for example,
 the assassination of President Kennedy - and asked
if they "recalled the circumstances in which you first
heard about the event." For those events which they
said "yes," they were then asked to write an account
of their memory and rate it on a scale of personal
importance.
 Brown and Kulik found that people said that they
had very clear memories of where they were, what
they did, and what they felt when they first learned
about an important public occurrence such as the
assassination of John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther
King.
 99% of the participants recalled the circumstances
in which they heard about the assassination of the
president - thirteen years after the event.
 People in the study were also asked if they had flashbulb memories of
personal events.
 Of 80 participants, 73 said that they had flashbulb memories associated with a
personal shock such as the sudden death of a close relative.
 Brown & Kulik observed a much lower rate of flashbulb memories among white
participants than black participants to the assassinations of Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King Jr.
 This shows that the link between personal importance and the event is
important in the creation of a flashbulb memory.
LIMITATIONS

 First, there is no way to determine whether the

memories stated by the participants are accurate.
 There was also no way to test the individual's level of
surprise upon hearing the event. Although it can be
assumed that the participants would have been
surprised to hear about the assassination of a public
official, this emotional response cannot be
measured.
 Finally, because of the national importance of these
events, the probability that demand characteristics
affected the results is very high.
Biological support for
flashbulb memory

 Sharot et al (2007) carried out a study after 9-11 attacks

on the United States to determine the potential role of
biological factors on flashbulb memories.
 The study was conducted three years after the 9/11
terrorist attacks in Manhattan.
 There were 24 participants who were in New York City
on that day.
 Participants’ brain activity was observed using
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
 While in the scanner, they were presented with word
cues on a screen.
 In addition, the word "Summer" or "September" was
projected along with this word in order to have the
participant link the word to either summer holidays or to
the events of 9-11.
 Participants’ brain activity was observed while they
recalled the event.

• After the brain scanning session, participants
were asked to rate their memories for vividness,
detail, confidence in accuracy and arousal.
• Participants were also asked to write down their
personal memories.
• Only half of the participants actually reported
having what would be called "flashbulb
memories" of the event - that is, a greater sense
of detail and a strong confidence in the accuracy
of the memory.
• Participants closer to the World Trade Centre
also included more specific details in their
written memories.
• Sharot and her team found that the activation of the
amygdala for the participants who were downtown was
higher when they recalled memories of the terrorist attack
than when they recalled events from the preceding
summer, whereas those participants who were further
away from the event had equal levels of response in the
amygdala when recalling both events. The strength of
amygdala activation at retrieval was shown to correlate
with flashbulb memories.
• These results suggest that close personal experience
may be critical in engaging the neural mechanisms that
produce the vivid memories characteristic of flashbulb
memory.
 • Kulkofsky et al (2011) looked at the role of culture in
flashbulb memory in five cultures: China, Germany,
Turkey, the UK and the USA. Participants were given
five minutes to recall as many memories as they could
of public events occurring in their lifetime.

COUNTER • They were then asked to complete a "memory

questionnaire" for each event where they were asked if

ARGUMENT  Neisser (1982) has questioned the idea of flashbulb

memories. People do not always know that an
they remembered where they first heard of the event. If
so, then they were asked a series of questions to
determine the extent of the FBM. They were then
event is important until later, so it is unclear how
asked to answer questions about the importance of the
flashbulb memories could be created at the moment
event to them personally.
of the event. He suggests that the memories are so
vivid because the event itself is rehearsed and
reconsidered after the event. According to Neisser,
what is called a flashbulb memory may simply be a
well-rehearsed story.
EVALUATION

Strengths
 There is biological evidence that supports the role of emotion in memory formation - for example, McGaugh & Cahill
(1995) and Sharot (2007).
Limitations
 Neisser argues that it is one's level of confidence, not accuracy, which defines FBM.
 There are cultural differences that indicate that rehearsal may play the most important role in the development of FBM.
 Often with real-life research on the topic, it is impossible to verify the accuracy of memories.
 It is not possible to measure one's emotional state at the time of an event - thus making it impossible to demonstrate a
clear causal explanation.