... first hearing about the terrorist attacks of September 11 and of a recent everyday event. They were tested again 1, 6, or 32 weeks later. Consistency for the flashbulb and everyday memories did not differ, in both cases declining over time. However, ratings of vividness, recollection, and belief in the accuracy of memory declined only for everyday memories. The question is whether these "flashbulb memories" are functionally different to all other types of ordinary memory. Brown & Kulik (1977) studied memories for surprisingly important public events such as the death of John F Kennedy. The study involved interviewing participants by asking them specific related questions, to the death of John F Kennedy happened such as "Do you recall the circumstances in which you first heard ......." They found that for a FM to be formed the event must feature aspects which are both surprising and personally consequential. Furthermore, irrelevant details were often recalled ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now