Flashbulb Memory

Words: 2482
Pages: 10
Open Document
A strong emotional stimulus triggers coherent details of a memory, known as flashbulb memory. There are two pathways in the brain that develop a flashbulb memory; emotional intensity and the predicted frequency of overt and covert rehearsal. Rehearsal is a direct determinant of the lucid memory. The amount of exposure to enhance the accuracy of the event is vital to recalling a story. Personal experience rather than sematic knowledge makes the memory error-prone. It is first person heard, experienced, and emotionally arousing. It is autobiological to which a person has learned about the memory rather than the factual details of the event with or without prior knowledge. Flashbulb memories are not composed of specific types of episodic memories …show more content…
Idiosyncratic information – color of a t-shirt, can be remembered rather than the event itself. Most of flashbulb memories are targeted around negative events rather than positive moments. Negative memories tend to be more rehearsed to relieve what cannot be changed. However, flashbulb memories change and become more inaccurate over time with subjective uncertainty. The question arises to, why emotional events seem firmingly fixed in peoples mind who claim they will never forget (Tinti, C.). This is because emotional arousal plays and important role in memory. Flashbulb memory may differ for each person in an event, encoded and stored, would not identical for everyone because specific events evoke a range of emotions in people because they have different perceptions of the event. In one portion of the event can be more significant to one person than …show more content…
Retrieval-induced forgetting refers to reclaiming memories that are suppressed to trace and reflect on cognition inhibition. This theory was first reported by Anderson, Bjork who tested a large number of studies that retrieval practice of a subset test items will suppress the recall of other related items. He hypothesized retrieval-induced forgetting is caused by cognitive inhibition damage that overrides the recovery of unwanted memories. Others proposed that retrieval-induced forgetting increases in strength by association of the item and the cue. Both accounts believe that there is some type of interference theory that predicts and interferes with retrieval impairment in response to a specific cue. The Attentional Control Theory states that retrieval-induced forgetting has some type of relationship in measuring cognitive inhibition that negatively correlates with the high levels of stress or anxiety. Studies prove that there is a correlation between retrieval-induced forgetting and extraversion personalities while introversions results in the weakening of inhibitory processes. “The arousal theory of extraversion personalities suggest that a high extraversion level is a consequence of low cortical arousal and high cortical inhibition, compared with that found in introverts” (Law, R., Groome). They argue that extraverts
Show More

Related Documents: Flashbulb Memory

Flashbulb Memory Analysis

emotions of the cognitive processes influence behavior. Flashbulb memory is a prime example of how emotions about a detailed vivid memory can be stores in our brains for a lifetime. Two theories of how emotion may affect the cognitive process of memory are Flashbulb Memory (FBM) that were suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977) and Conway (1994). Flashbulb Memories is a special kind of emotional memory, which refers to photographic-like memories of emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain…

Words 762 - Pages 4

Essay On Flashbulb Memory

Explicit memories are memories we recall intentionally and of which we have conscious awareness. These memories can be either episodic (memories dealing with a specific episode in time.) or semantic (memories pertaining to general knowledge and that are decontextualized). In Jim’s case, his recollection of his memory of his parents winning the lottery is an episodic memory. Researchers have shown that our memories are more fallible than many of us thought to be possible. Commonly, we are very confident…

Words 421 - Pages 2

Flashbulb Memory Analysis

For this particular assignment we were asked to recall a ‘flashbulb memory’ and compare our recount of the event to someone else’s. For this, I decided to describe and reflect on my memory of my great aunt’s passing in spring 2013. Late afternoon February 15th, 2012 I remember going shopping at Lowes with my father and sister. My aunt was already in an extremely poor condition, so I (at least in the back of my mind) recognized her death was inevitable and near. I vaguely remember being in the sink…

Words 655 - Pages 3

Personal Narrative: Flashbulb Memory

the essay, is what I would call a negative example of Flashbulb Memory. The situation that took place caused numerous emotions. Which is a benefactor in keeping flashbulb memory. I was experiencing that day many emotions from sadness, to happiness, to anger, to guilt. All while thinking of the tragedy that has occurred. It allowed for my mind to process countless tnormally would be useless. This one instance is a personal example of flashbulb…

Words 957 - Pages 4

Flashbulb Memory Research Paper

will forget them, they are known as “flashbulb” memories. The idea that one could receive such shocking news that a memory so detailed and emotionally important can be laid out piece by piece like a snapshot, was first proposed to us in 1977, by James Kulik, PhD, and Roger Brown, PhD. (Schachter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014, p. 258). There have been many different examples of flashbulb memories over time, many people say September 11, 2001 was a huge memory for them, some say the news of the Oklahoma…

Words 798 - Pages 4

Flashbulb Memories Research Paper

some aspect of the memory was flawed? Today experiencing such events like the loss of a loved one, witnessing a dramatic car crash, or hearing of a gruesome crime is something most Americans have had to deal with at some point in their life. Each of these events are understood to be dramatic, painful, and highly emotional occurrences. When things like this occur, individuals often develop flashbulb memories. Flashbulb bulb memories can be defined as vivid and lasting memories that take place as…

Words 339 - Pages 2

Jim's Vivid: Flashbulb Memory

this essay I will be discussing Jim's vivid, yet incorrect, flashbulb memory of the day he found out his parents won the lottery, and why he so inaccurately recalled that day. This is not an uncommon occurrence for flashbulb memories. In fact, many studies have shown that people's recollection of life-changing events tend to get skewed over time. So, Jim can rest assured that he is not alone in this strange phenomenon of incorrect memory identification. Before I begin explaining some reasoning behind…

Words 575 - Pages 3

Flashbulb Memory Research Paper

Flashbulb memory is a particular vivid recall or snapshot of one surrounding produced by exposure to a dramatic event. The term flashbulb memory suggests the element of surprise and brevity of photograph. Just like an ordinary memories, flash bulb memories can be forgotten in time. Vivid flashbulb memories are formed often in event that individuals can remember in vivid details such what they were doing during that exact moment, which they were with, the clothes they were wearing… Some common flashbulb…

Words 362 - Pages 2

Review on Autoboigraphical Memory Essay

Autobiographical Memory * Definition * Memories that refer to and bear on the self-construal of the individual rememberer * They are intricately involved in shaping the rememberer’s identity * They contrast with memories that do not bear on individual identity Autobiographical memory are represented at different levels * Lifetime period, e.g., When I was at school, * Usually represents thematic material, e.g., When I was at school, I was a lost soul.…

Words 1198 - Pages 5

Searching For The Memory

Searching for the Memory “Searching for the Memory” begins with a surrealist painter, named Salvador Dali, who quotes, “The difference between false memories and true ones is the same for jewels: it is always false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.” The stamen leads the meaning of our memory Misinformation Effect, which is the tendency to incorporate misleading information into our memory of an event. What we see from what we say leaves a really big gap between reality and fiction…

Words 727 - Pages 3