One of my favorite psychological phenomenon is the flashbulb memory, which we learned about in lesson 9 of this course. The first time that I learned about flashbulb memory and how it functioned was in a course called Sensations and Perceptions, and I was utterly enthralled learning about how certain memories became etched into our brain when processed in unison with strong emotions. Goldstein tells us that a flashbulb memory is “a person’s memory for the circumstances surrounding hearing about shocking, highly charged events,” but that it is “important to emphasize that the term flashbulb memory refers to memory for the circumstances surrounding how a person heard about an event, not memory for the event itself” (Goldstein, 2011). The main reason for my interest in the phenomenon of flashbulb memories is the link between emotion and memory, which appears to be directly associated with the amygdala as we learned in lesson 9.
Though Goldstein emphasizes that flashbulb memories only refer to hearing about an event, I can certainly recall several memories that I would categorize as flashbulb that I was directly involved in. I have to disagree with Goldstein’s definition and, as our lesson commentary suggests, believe that a flashbulb memory is any memory that is processed in the context of intense emotion, searing the details of the memory into our minds. These emotions don’t necessarily need to be good or bad, simply out of the ordinary emotions that caused us to construct the memory differently than normal. For example, I have incredibly vivid memories of visits to my grandparents’ house in Vermont as a child. I recall the crispness of the air in the countryside where they lived; the drive through the woods to get to their house; the smell of their wood-burning stove; the bark of their dog as we approached; even seemingly pointless details like counting the fence-posts as we made our way up their driveway. None of these things invoke intense emotion one way or another, but the setting was different enough and caused me to experience different enough sensations that I, for whatever reason, stored the memories away as important. Quite honestly, I can recall many of those memories better than I can the common flashbulb memories, like the events of 9/11.
Without a doubt the detail with which we process memories is directly linked to our emotions, however it would seem to me that the type of memory that might be categorized as flashbulb might be different for everyone. While everyone certainly experiences intense emotion during a crisis, we also all handle it differently which would suggest that we also all process it differently. One person’s 9/11 flashbulb memory might be the most intensely vivid memory that they have ever experienced, while someone else’s most vivid memory might simply be sitting by a lake fishing with their father.
Goldstein, B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Wadsworth, Inc.