Flashbulb Memories :: essays research papers

Do Flashbulb memories differ from other forms of remembrance?Our past is preserved in a variety of memories of very antithetic nature (Salaman, 1970) There be many proposed divisions and sub-divisions of human memory, such as working memory, procedural memory, semantic memory or episodic memory. Many of the systems seem to overlap, with each having alter functions related to the maintenance of what is essentially human life. For example, episodic and autobiographical memory funda cordially sh atomic number 18 the same functions. sensation of the many functions is what Tulving (1983) called Mental metre travel, the ability to experience past aftermath. Autobiographical memories argon archetype to be structured at assorted levels of temporal and spatial specificity that unitedly are used as reference for the construction of self. This mental time travel can take place through different hierarchic levels of autobiographical organisation. The hierarchy level can be as general a s university or as specific as think the topic of conversation with a certain person on a certain day (Cohen, 1998). Autobiographical memories are therefore seen as be autonoetic in that they carry information about the context in which they were experienced. One example of an extreme form of contextual specific memory is the finale of Princess Diana. Many people especially the media ask a common perplexity such as what were you doing when you heard the news. Many people convey to be able to remember such major moments with unusual limpidity and vividness, as if the events were etched on their minds throughout their lives. The question is whether these flashbulb memories are functionally different to all other types of memory such as autobiographical memory.Brown & Kulik (1977), introduced the term flashbulb memory to describe memories that are preserved in an almost indiscriminate way. They postulated that these flashbulb memories were indeed different from ordinary memories, with some defining characteristics. Although these memories are thought to be photographic in their clarity and detail, they do not preserve all features of an event. conversely Brown & Kulik proposed that idiosyncratic event details are remembered. These details help oneself form what has been described as a live memory in that the reception field is remembered including where, when and who with factors of an event. Brown & Kulik (1977) studied memories for important events such as the death of John F Kennedy. They found that irrelevant details were practically recalled and it appeared that they had retained a brief moment of time associated with an emotional event (Smyth et al, 1994).