FLASHBULB MEMORY THEORY on memory processes:Brown & Kulik (1977)intro: strong, emotional experiences lead to memories that are vivid, accurate;two key components: 1. "special mechanism" hypothesis: participants must be surprised in order for the mechanism of neural memory to register a permanent record of the event.2. events need to have personal meaning for the participantsANALYSIS: Adrenaline plays an important role in creating "emotional" memories, as it activates the amygdala in the limbic system. sending a message to the brain that something dangerous and/or dangerous is happening.aim: to test the validity of FBM on memory processes, as they postulated that the mind can remember an importance-driven event as vivid as a photographSample: 80 Americans, half of which were white, the other half African AmericansProcedure: asked them through a questionnaire to recall descriptive memories from the ASSASINATION of both PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY and MARTIN LUTHER KING: involved where the participants were, what they were doing, and how they found out about this assasination-75% of the African American participants demonstrated a higher emotional response to the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for racial inequality.-EMOTIONALwas processed through both a personal and cultural relevance of the event to the participants, THUS CREATING A FLASHBULB MEMORYResults: -Responses involved significant details of the event especially in regards to the assasination of President John F. Kennedy. --EMOTION MAY HAVE AN AFFECT ON THE ACCURACY OF ONES MEMORY LIMITATION: did not undergo an fMRI scan to measure this activity, therefore their recollection may not be fully accurate highly emotional event;doesn't show cause and effect; participants could also be lying about how much they remember of the evente

Then try StudyFetch, the AI-powered platform that can answer your questions and teach you more about it!