Flashbulb Memory: Key Terms and Theories

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts in flashbulb memory: theory, brain mechanisms, key studies, and implications.

Flashbulb memory

A highly detailed, vivid snapshot of a surprising and emotionally arousing event, often with personal significance, believed to be resistant to forgetting.

Brown & Kulik (1977)

Proposed the concept of flashbulb memory, emphasizing surprise and personal relevance; introduced ideas about a special mechanism and amygdala involvement.

Special-mechanism hypothesis

The idea that a unique neural mechanism is triggered by highly surprising emotional events to produce enduring, detailed memories.

Personal relevance

The degree to which an event matters to an individual, increasing emotional impact and the likelihood of a flashbulb memory.

Surprise

The element of unexpectedness that triggers emotional arousal and memory encoding in flashbulb memory.

Amygdala

A brain structure in the limbic system crucial for processing emotions and modulating memory consolidation for emotional events.

Adrenaline (epinephrine)

A hormone released during high arousal that helps trigger memory consolidation via the amygdala.

Noradrenaline (norepinephrine)

A neurotransmitter released during arousal that enhances encoding and retrieval of emotional memories.

McGaugh & Cahill (1995)

Study showing emotional arousal enhances recall of details; memory advantage linked to amygdala and adrenaline; beta-blocker blocked this effect.

Propranolol

A beta-blocker used to block adrenaline receptors in the amygdala to test the role of emotional arousal in memory.

Beta-blocker effect on memory

If beta-blockers are given, the emotional memory advantage is reduced or eliminated, suggesting adrenaline-amygdala involvement.

Neisser & Harsh (1992)

Study after space shuttle explosion showing high confidence but lower accuracy in long-term recall, challenging FBM accuracy.

Confidence vs accuracy

In flashbulb memory research, high confidence does not always match high accuracy of recall.

Sharot et al. (2007)

fMRI study after 9/11 showing amygdala activation correlates with flashbulb memories and proximity to event.

Proximity to event

Physical or personal closeness to the event that correlates with stronger amygdala activation and more vivid memories.

Ecological validity

Extent to which findings from controlled lab studies generalize to real-life situations.

Cultural bias in FBM

Potential differences across cultures in focus on individual memory and rehearsal, affecting flashbulb memory formation.