In the field of psychology, there have been many different terms encountered. One of them is the flashbulb memory psychology which has various related concepts. Aside from that, there were also various existing issues and concerns around this term.
The flashbulb memory refers to the exceptionally vivid and highly detailed snapshot of certain circumstances and moment wherein a particular consequential and surprising (or even emotional arousing) news that was heard. This is also the appropriate terms for a phenomenon suggesting indiscriminate illumination, brevity and surprise. However, this has been inappropriate as the actual photograph. In actuality, flashbulb memory psychology may be somewhat indiscriminate as well as far enough from being complete. Evidence shown that even if certain individuals have been highly confident when it comes to their memories, the memory details may still be forgotten.
Flashbulb memories have been containing vivid details than the regular memories. They were also associated with enhance confidence in terms of reporting the details. They take place right after striking an event which was highly dramatic, whether bad or good. Many people can recall an enhanced detail once they had heard about a particular location. Most of the time, they were often reported right after larger stories.
There have been new findings which raised questions regarding whether the unique mechanism of brain has been involved in these memories. This controversial idea in psychologists has been put forward 3 decades ago. This newest study suggested that flashbulb memory psychology exists when an individual witnessed an event at first hand, which is closer to neural special process.
The amygdale has been an almond-shaped and small structure in the brain which is responsible for mediating the influence of emotion on memory. The traditional flashbulb memory view suggested that particular memories got special qualities with broader ranges of individuals. Apart from amygdale, there have been distinctions in some memory regions like a person’s posterior parahippocampus.
As stated by the researchers and medical experts, their findings on the memories left by 9/11 bombing indicated that the personal involvements can be critical when it comes to memory production with the flashbulb memory qualities. They thought that this is due to amygdala, which plays a crucial role in improving the feelings of recalling for emotional materials. It is also more involved when such big events have been experienced.
To give a better understanding of what is flashbulb memory psychology is, there had been studies conducted in the past years right after 9/11 terrorists attacked in Manhattan. The brain activity of the participants has been observed with the use of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). After this session of brain scanning, subjects have been requested to rate their own memories for detail, arousal, valence, confidence in accuracy, and vividness. The ratings had indicated the re-collective experience qualitative nature.
The result is that only half number of these subjects had reported confidence, detail and vividness in terms of recollecting various events from this 9/11 event. The examination of the participants’ experience revealed that these people were those who stay closers to the World Trade Center during that time. This is how flashbulb memory psychology works and there have been essential facts to consider throughout the research.