Flashbulb Memory Analysis

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The cognitive level of analysis aims to study the inner processes of the mind and how 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.
Brown and Kulik firstly demonstrated flashbulb memory in 1977. The aim was to investigate weather or not dramatic or personally significant events can cause
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The strengths in Brown and Kulik’s study were that there were many participants, which made this investigation ecologically valid and since interviews do not have a clear structure, meaning they do not have to follow questions as you would in a questionnaire, it made the results more flexible. On the other hand, since the participants and the events were all related to Americans, it cannot be generalized to the rest of the population, making it very bias. Also, since the data collected was recalled verbally, researcher bias could also have occurred since no quantitative data was collected. The strengths in Conway’s investigation were that it is ecologically Valid, and since the information was recorded as an interview, it provides an in depth qualitative data. On the contrary, the participants may have felt in distress because they had to remember a tragic event. This experiment again suggests that flashbulb memory is different to normal memory, however it may only exist for events with a personal