When I think of memory and after having read about flashbulb memory in the book, I’ve always been fascinated that when a traumatic or significant event takes place, those who remember it can describe in the most vivid detail all of the scene and what it was that they were doing at the time.
Early September, in Sequim, Washington, I woke up to my Grandmother telling me to come into the living room and watch the television to see what was happening. I had visit my grandparents the day before and didn’t have to work that day or the day after, so I ate a nice home-cooked dinner from my Grandmother and spent the night looking forward to one of my Grandfather’s classic omelet breakfasts in the morning. Instead of the infamous breakfast, I joined my Grandfather in the living room and witnessed in horror the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on the news. The interesting thing is, when asked to recall the actual event that I witnessed, I can only give a generic version of seeing the planes hit the towers and the rest of what unfolded. I can’t even remember which news station was broadcasting the event. However, I can tell you exactly what I was wearing, what my Grandfather was wearing, the look on his face, the smell coming from the kitchen and so on.
The term flashbulb memory is defined by Brown and Kulik as ‘memory for the circumstances surrounding hearing about shocking, highly charged events.’ (Brown, 397) I can remember so vividly my whereabouts, what I was doing, who I was with, when it was, what everyone was wearing, the surrounding smells, all of my perceptive observations, is because of Flashbulb memory. This is directly linked to emotion and there are several events in my life where I can think of being able to describe them, because of flashbulb memory. I agree with Brown and Kulik that there is a certain specific link to this type of memory and how we store these memories.
Goldstein, E. Bruce. “Everyday Memory and Memory Error.”Cognitive Psychology. Wadsworth Zengage Learning, 2008. 208-212, 397. Print.
I think your blog post on flashbulb memory is great. Your example about 9/11 perfectly illustrate the light bulb memory. Just like other replier, I also have the vivid memory about the 9/11 events. All of the television is broadcast the news of the terrorist attack in New York City. The entire event becomes the spotlight of the entire world. Even back in china, people also talks about this terroristic event. I can still recall how the plant crushes into the building from the video. However, I have more clear memories when I first time heard the news. That was a morning my mother was sending me to school and I heard the news from the radio. Just like what you stated, you can only “give a generic version of seeing the planes hit the towers and the rest of what unfolded.” You experience certainly matched with what Brown and Kulik Emphasized. They stated, “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). And I have the exact feeling with you. The vivid memory of surrounding still keeps in my mind nowadays. And I believe that is the fascination of the flashbulb memory.
Goldstein, E.B. (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and
Everyday Experience, Third Ed. Belmont, CA. Wasdworth, Cengage Learning.
I enjoyed reading your blog. I like how you tied in flashbulb memory with the September 11th Terrorist Attacks and what your grandfather was wearing, the look on his face and the smells. I remember these attacks myself but because I was at work. I was at the time active duty Coast Guard stationed at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, NJ. I myself can remember sitting at my desk in the Legal Office and one of the guys across the hall in the Public Affairs Office came in and told us that a plane just hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. The lawyer and I walked across the hall since they had a television in their office and we watched the aftermath of the first plane, then the second plane hit, and the eventual collapsing of the buildings. Like you I can remember certain things about that day very vividly. Just as you mentioned about Roger Brown and James Kulick (1977) that there is something special because this was such an emotionally charged event (Goldstein, 2011, pg. 209). I cannot remember like you do what I was doing the night before, but I remember sitting outside of my house that night and how quiet it was, there were no planes flying and I never really paid any attention to how much that ambient noise was around until that night. That is the one thing that strikes me almost 14 years later, that quiet, it was horrible. I also agree with Brown and Kulick, as you do but it makes me wonder sometimes if I am remembering accurately. I never wrote anything down immediately afterward in a journal so I cannot be sure what I remember now is exactly the same as that day, as we learned with the technique of repeated recall (Goldstein, 2011, pg. 209), but as far as I know, that is what happened to me.
Goldstein, E.B. (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and
Everyday Experience, Third Ed. Belmont, CA. Wasdworth, Cengage Learning.
I really liked that you did this blog post on flashbulb memory, and your example was perfect. I used to always wonder why it would take so long to memorize certain things in school, but on some occasions I could remember so much detail about a situation.
Just like you, I remember the day that 9/11 happened. I was in class in elementary school in north Miami, I was wearing their yellow and blue uniform, and all the sudden another teacher came into the room and turned on the tv in the front, right corner of the room and everyone watched so quietly, not quite sure what to do. I didn’t understand so much what it meant in that moment, but now that I know, I have the memory of that moment to put the two together.