Flashbulb memory
Flashbulb memory refers to the vivid and detailed recollection of the moment when an individual learns about a significant, surprising, and emotionally charged event. Often likened to a photographic snapshot, these memories can last a long time and are characterized by rich details, such as where one was and what one was doing at that moment. Despite their apparent clarity, research indicates that flashbulb memories can be incomplete, selective, and prone to inaccuracies. The concept gained prominence in 1977 when researchers Roger Brown and James Kulik examined how people remembered the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, highlighting that certain events could evoke similarly intense memories. The formation of flashbulb memories appears to be influenced by factors such as the surprising nature of the event and the emotional response it elicits. Various models have since emerged to explain the mechanisms behind these memories, contributing to a broader understanding of how memory functions in the brain. Studying flashbulb memories may also have implications for addressing memory-related conditions like Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Overall, flashbulb memories represent a unique area of interest in the psychology of memory and emotional response.
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Subject Terms
Flashbulb memory
A flashbulb memory is the memory of the moment that one learned about a surprising, important, and emotionally charged event. Flashbulb memories have been compared to photographic snapshots because they are full of vivid details and can remain with a person for long time. Despite these qualities, however, researchers have found that flashbulb memories are somewhat incomplete, selective, and often inaccurate.
Scientists study flashbulb memories and other types of memories to further understanding of how the brain works. Studies of how flashbulb memories are formed and retained in the brain may also help researchers develop treatments for conditions that involve memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, or that are caused by memories of traumatic events, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Overview
The term “flashbulb memory” was first used by Harvard University researchers Roger Brown and James Kulik in their 1977 paper “Flashbulb Memories,” published in the journal Cognition. In their paper, they discussed the way that people remembered where they were, what they were doing, and whom they were with when they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Brown and Kulik reported that while news of the Kennedy assassination was an instigating event for particularly strong and common flashbulb memories, they found that other events could create similarly vivid, detailed, and long-lasting memories. Moreover, such memories only seemed to form when the piece of news was highly surprising and consequential, and perhaps accompanied by a strong emotional response to the news. The high degree of surprise and consequence affects how often the memory is rehearsed and therefore the amount of detail that can be recalled and how accessible it is.
Since 1977, different researchers have debated Brown and Kulik’s theory and proposed different models to explain how and why flashbulb memories form. These include the structural equation model conceived by Conway et al. in 1994, and the two-path model proposed by Finkenauer et al. in 1998. Brown and Kulik’s model is the photographic model, which hypothesizes that the process by which the flashbulb memory is formed follows a sequence: first, surprise; then, realization of what has changed because of the event and why it matters to the subject; and finally, the subject’s emotional response based on realization of the consequences of the event. Although the other models agree on the determinants of flashbulb memories, they differ about which factor or factors are most important to the formation and maintenance of flashbulb memories and how they are related and work together.
Bibliography
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Conway, Martin A. Flashbulb Memories. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 1995. Print.
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