Flashbulb memories
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Autobiographical memories are memories of events from our personal past, and are crucial for maintaining sense of self and personal. Flashbulb memories can be defined as particularly vivid and long lasting autobiographical memories that are accompanied by high levels of confidence in their accuracy. We all have such vivid and detailed memories of personally important and emotionally arousing events from our past like winning a prize, a car accident or death of a relative. However, what makes these memories so memorable? Are they accurate depictions of what actually happened? And, how to study such varied personal memories under controlled conditions?
Psychologists have studied flashbulb memories by asking people to remember their personal circumstances in which they first heard of the news of very important or tragic public event. Major events used for studying flashbulb memories include the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the explosion of space shuttle Challenger in 1986, the Death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the terrorist attack on 11 September, 2001. Note that participants are not asked to recall the details of the event itself (for example, what exactly happened in New York on 11 September). Instead, they are asked to recall their personal circumstances in which they first heard of the news such as where they were, what they were doing or who told them, etc. |
Assassination of JF Kenndy
Explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger
Death of Princess Diana
Terrorist attack on NY
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OUR research on flashbulb memories
Research on Flashbulb Memories, conducted at the University of Hertfordshire, is based on two major public events, the death of Princess Diana and the terrorist attack in New York on 11 September in 2001. In one of the studies we also staged an event which involved informing participants over the phone that they did not win a prize (£100). We then assessed participants’ memories for circumstances in which they first heard the news of this mundane autobiographical event, and compared participants’ memories of this control event to their flashbulb memories of September 11. Part of the data collection was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council in 2003-2005. A brief synopsis of this research for general public is available for download here.
Research is primarily focussed on studying the nature of flashbulb memories. Are they retained for many years in much more detail and more accurately than ordinary autobiographical memories?
The question about the long term retention of memory details was examined in several studies. Results show that for momentous flashbulb events the number of details recalled (without assessing their accuracy) after as many as 6-7 years may not be different from what is recalled only few days after the event. In other words, details about flashbulb events stay in our memory for a long time.
The question about the accuracy or consistency of reported details was examined by comparing participants’ reports shortly after the event and two and three years later. Results showed that although flashbulb memories were not totally immune to forgetting, they were retained significantly better than memories of ordinary events (such as how one found out that s/he did not win £100). The number of major distortions or totally inconsistent memories of September 11 was remarkably low in 2004 (only 7%), and the analyses of memory fluctuations across different tests showed that memories classed as distortions were not completely wrong memories; they simply referred to instances of when people heard the news again from a different source. Finally, no age effects were found for flashbulb memories of September 11.
Research is primarily focussed on studying the nature of flashbulb memories. Are they retained for many years in much more detail and more accurately than ordinary autobiographical memories?
The question about the long term retention of memory details was examined in several studies. Results show that for momentous flashbulb events the number of details recalled (without assessing their accuracy) after as many as 6-7 years may not be different from what is recalled only few days after the event. In other words, details about flashbulb events stay in our memory for a long time.
The question about the accuracy or consistency of reported details was examined by comparing participants’ reports shortly after the event and two and three years later. Results showed that although flashbulb memories were not totally immune to forgetting, they were retained significantly better than memories of ordinary events (such as how one found out that s/he did not win £100). The number of major distortions or totally inconsistent memories of September 11 was remarkably low in 2004 (only 7%), and the analyses of memory fluctuations across different tests showed that memories classed as distortions were not completely wrong memories; they simply referred to instances of when people heard the news again from a different source. Finally, no age effects were found for flashbulb memories of September 11.