Flashbulb Memory and Forgetfulness - Literature review Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Flashbulb Memory According to Hirst et al. (2009), the special nature of flashbulb memories and their related occurrence memories is attributed to the extra-ordinary happenings that have significant implications with regards to the emotional state of the public rather than just an individual. For example, the September 11 attack on the Twin towers and the pentagon in the US was an emotionally charged event that involved a lot of people. My aunt recounts the manner in which her son lost a hand in the September 11 bomb attack on the twin towers among many other people who suffered similar misfortune. These are memories that elicit individual as well as collective identity as Americans having been attacked by terrorists (Talarico & Rubin, 2003). Byrne et al. (2001) argues that in flashbulb memories, people recall what they were doing just before the incident occurred. My aunt recalls that she had just left an official meeting and was expecting to meet her son who was to pick her up in his car since she had a half day off. Moreover, Berntsen (2002) observes that not every detail is remembered in flashbulb memories. There is an element of forgetfulness that occurs over time and becomes pronounced as years pass. In her case, my aunt does not remember exactly what she was thinking as she waited for her son to arrive. Nevertheless, she remembers that the day was calm and she was excited that she had a free afternoon as a compensation for the previous day that she spent more than 9 hours in the office. Her memories confirm the assertion of Talarico & Rubin (2003), that conversations regarding flashbulb memories generate personal reactions such as emotions. She weeps every time she narrates the how she saw her son arriving and then heard a loud blast that shook the ground and the surrounding buildings. According to Nachson & Zelig (2003), people remember vividly regarding the immediate impact of an incident in flashbulb memories. She clearly remembers a short span of blindness that was accompanied by the screams of people in anguish. In a short while after the blast, she recalls how sirens of fire fighting engines and ambulances filled all over the place and that she could neither move nor comprehend what was happening. She recalls that someone held her hand and persuaded her to rush out of the place as quick as possible. Berntsen (2002) argues that shocking details of an incident are recalled more frequently than any other occurrence. In this incident, my aunt often recalls how she saw a figure that resembled her son on a stretcher being ushered in to an ambulance. However, the body was covered with blood in most of the parts and hence it was not possible to positively identify him without having a closer look. The van drove off at high speed, and many other people were ferried out of the scene in the same manner. Nevertheless, her son is still alive, which is the only pleasant memory that she has even though his career was cut short by the disability that resulted. Flashbulb memories are narrated over and over again and hence rehearsed (Bohn & Berntsen, 2007). This could be the reason that she tells the story as if it was a recorded recital. References Berntsen, D. 2002, “Tunnel memories for autobiographical events: Central details are remembered more frequently from shocking than from happy experiences”, Memory & Cognition, Vol. 30, pp. 1010-1020. Bohn, A. & Berntsen, D. 2007, “Pleasantness bias in flashbulb memories: Positive and negative flashbulb memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall among East and West Germans”, Memory & Cognition, Vol. 35, 3, pp. 565-577 Byrne, C. A., Hyman, I. E., & Scott, K. L. 2001, “Comparisons of memories for traumatic events and other experiences” Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 15, pp. 119-133. Hirst et al. 2009 “Long-term memory for the terrorist attack of September 11: Flashbulb memories, event memories, and the factors that influence their retention”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 138, 2, pp. 161–176. Nachson, I., & Zelig, A. 2003, “Flashbulb and factual memories: The case of Rabin’s assassination”, Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 17, pp. 519-531. Talarico, J.M., & Rubin, D.C. 2003, “Confidence, not consistency, characterizes flashbulb memories”. Psychological Science, Vol. 14, 5, pp. 455-461. Forgetfulness Loftus et al. (1994) focused on retrieval malfunction, interference, information storage failure as well as motivated forgetting as the major reasons that cause forgetfulness. They described retrieval malfunction as a situation whereby a person’s memory loses some information that he/she knows is within the memory but can not be easily found. The decay theory postulates that a memory trace is formed whenever new information is acquired and that these traces die away over time leading to loss of information unless the person rehearses over and over again. My friend’s memory improves over time after rehearsal over any new information. This confirms the research that contradicts the decay theory whereby studies indicate maintenance in the long term memory of information that has not been rehearsed (Gary, 2011). Interference is a phenomenon involving competition of memories as well as some memories acting as impediments against transfer of information from short to long term memory. Proactive interference involves an earlier stored memory blocking successful storage of new memory while retroactive interference occurs when new information overshadows information that was learned earlier (Loftus et al. 1994). Forgetfulness due to interference is a phenomenon that has remained a serious problem with my room mate since the time we met. After the initial introduction that led us to know each other better, we decided to take a walk around the campus so that we could familiarize ourselves with the new environment. However, as we talked over several things that we had seen later in our room, I noticed that my friend was having difficulties remembering exactly where we saw something or where we met someone. I also remembered that he had forgotten our room and he had to refer from the accommodation ticket for the room number. This could have resulted from distraction or interference since a lot of information was learned in a very short time (Eysenck & Keane, 2010). Failure to store information may be associated with the information having failed to reach the long term memory as a result of encoding malfunction. The main features of an object or the most important information for a person may reach long term memory more effectively than the unessential information (Loftus et al. 1994). According to Squire (2004) forgetfulness mainly affects the activities that the mind does not pay great attention to in terms of importance to the day to day lives of individuals, implying that forgetfulness can be overcome through paying greater attention to every aspect of the daily engagements as well as connecting some meaning to personal life when confronted by a new phenomenon. For example, my friend’s memory with regards to answering questions in exams is excellent since he is always among the top ten best students in class. According to Loftus et al. (1994) motivated forgetting may cause forgetfulness especially when an individual is confronted with distressing challenges. Individuals may consciously forget information through suppression or unconsciously through repression. However, Gary (2011) observes that suppression may not be effective in leading to forgetfulness as a result of constant reminders that rejuvenate memory. For example, my friend was brought up in an orphanage after having lost both parents in a terrific road accident. He has since forgotten how they looked like since he was just a kid then and memories have unconsciously faded away. Nevertheless, he tries to suppress the memories of having had parents, but constant interactions with other people in the company of their parents makes the suppressive efforts difficult to accomplish. References Loftus, E.F., Polonsky, S., & Fullilove, M. T. (1994). Memories of childhood sexual abuse: Remembering and repressing. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 67-845. Eysenck, M.W., & Keane, M.T. (2010). Cognitive psychology (6th ed.), Hove, UK: Psychology Press. Gary, J. L. 2011, Staying Afloat in a Sea of Forgetfulness: Common Sense Caregiving, Xlibris Corporation Squire, L. R. 2004, “Memory systems of the brain: A brief history and current perspective”, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Vol. 82, pp. 171–177 Read More