AnnaMarie Houlis
Ever feel like your memories play past your eyes like an old movie? You feel like you can flick through the snapshots in an old film roll, and they seem crystal clear.
You might have what scientists call “flashbulb memory.”
In 1977, U.S. psychologists Roger Brown and James Kulik coined the term “flashbulb memory” when they studied the ways in which people recalled United States President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
However, they found that those things we swore happened in the ways in which we swore they happened might not be so accurate after all.
While flashbulb memories may be more accurate than memories of everyday events, our minds still play tricks on us. We forget and falsely remember “facts” all the time.
Here’s what you should know about flashbulb memory including how it works and how to strengthen it so you remember more, better.
Flashbulb Memory Definition
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a flashbulb memory is “a vivid, enduring memory associated with a personally significant and emotional event, often including such details as where the individual was or what he or she was doing at the time of the event.”
Basically, a flashbulb memory is a memory of a monumental event.
Flashbulb memories can feel very alive in your mind; it’s common that you can still remember what you were wearing, where you were and what you felt like at that moment.
These memories tend to induce emotions that are similar to the ones you experienced in those moments.
Examples of Flashbulb Memories
Flashbulb memories may be positive or negative. Some examples of flashbulb memories that millions of people have include the following:
- JFK’s assassination
- The September 11th terrorist attacks
- The Challenger space shuttle explosion
- Princess Diana’s death
- The sinking of the Titanic
- The fall of the Berlin Wall
- The attack on Pearl Harbor
All of these widely known events made history. And while they were largely public events, they felt very personal to people. That’s partly why they’re remembered very differently, depending on who you ask.
Criticisms of the Flashbulb Memory Theory
Flashbulb memories are not always as accurate as they may seem. Some researchers actually purport that “collective memories change as new events occur,” like the end of the Cold War.
A number of other factors also affect our memories of events:
- When they happened (during adolescence or adulthood)
- oOr access to education surrounding the events (like history books),
- Sub-events and social or technological changes that have happened over time
Plus, proximity counts for something. In 1996, researchers looked at the Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California and found that Californians recalled the earthquake with much more accuracy than those across the country in Atlanta. But people in Atlanta with family in California had considerably sharper memories of the earthquake than those without California connections.
It makes sense that being close to a major event means it’s clearer in your mind. However, this particular study did not identify a correlation between emotional arousal and recall. Instead, narrative rehearsal (constantly hearing about the event in the news, frequently talking about it with others, etc.) seemed to be more significant.
Still, memories of events that feel personal to us tend to evoke more emotions, which certainly plays a role in why and how we remember them.
Another 2007 study about 9/11 asked participants who lived in downtown Manhattan and participants who lived a little further away in Midtown to recall the attacks. The results showed that 83 percent of those who lived nearby exhibited “selective activation of the amygdala,” which is responsible for processing emotions, when retrieving memories of the attacks. The same could only be said of 40 percent of those who lived in Midtown. This means that “personal experience modulates the neural circuitry of memories.”
But personal experience isn’t always necessary to provoke emotional arousal. A 1988 study about memories of the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion, which claimed the lives of all seven astronauts on board, also found that emotions played an important part in the vividness of memories. Participants who didn’t have ties to the people who died in the explosion still felt strong feelings about it that colored their memories of it.
Are False Memories and Flashbulb Memories Connected?
Flashbulb memories can, over time, become false memories.
In 1992, researchers looked at people’s memories of the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion by reviewing a questionnaire the participants took the day it happened and again three years down the line. To little surprise, the responses were not consistent. On average, participants gave the same answers only about 40 percent of the time, despite how confident they felt in their recollection of the event.
Flashbulb memories have been studied for decades, and many of these studies have come to the same conclusion: Flashbulb memories aren’t always accurate, especially over time.
“Flashbulb, or strong episodic, memories are no more consistent over time than other memories, but people are highly confident in these memories and report them as being salient and vivid,” other researchers said in 2009, after reviewing memories of September 11th and the space shuttle disaster.
In other words: As time passes, our memories of events can deteriorate.
Flashbulb Memories vs Autobiographical Memories
Autobiographical memories refer to memories of events in your personal history.
Flashbulb memories may be autobiographical memories because you might recall a monumental moment, like landing your first job or moving into a new home. Even when flashbulb memories are of events that aren’t necessarily personal (like a national event), they can feel personal because they can be dramatic or shocking.
Your memories of the past—public or personal—can significantly impact how you think, what you believe and the ways in which you behave today. This is especially true when those memories feel major. That’s why accuracy is so important. Fortunately for you, there are tools out there that can help you retain accurate information for longer periods of time. Dorothy, for example, uses sophisticated AI that employs science-backed memorization techniques. So if there are details that you don’t want to see dwindle, you can tell Dorothy, and Dorothy will tell you—often.