Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process (22 marks)
Command term "EVALUATE" - make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations
Flashbulb Memory (FBM)
Developed by Brown and Kulik
Suggests that memory is stronger when there is an emotional impact, if it is relevant to oneself, and has consequences on one’s life
When an event is highly emotional, there may be very detailed recall of it
The term “flashbulb” is used as it indicates the level of detail in the memory - as if the flashbulb of a camera is going off
In terms of eyewitness testimonies, a crime would have to have an emotional impact in order to be more detailed (leading to flashbulb, rather than reconstructive)
Emotional memories are more reliable as they are stored separately in the amygdala rather than the hippocampus
Brown and Kulik also hypothesised that a specialised neural mechanism exists in the brain which stores information permanently in a memory system devoted solely to FBMs
STUDY: Brown and Kulik - Flashbulb Memory
AIM: to investigate whether events with an emotional connection are remembered better
PROCEDURE: - Interviewed 80 participants: 40 White Americans and 40 African Americans - Had to answer questions about 10 events: 9 were assassinations / attempts of well-known American personalities - Last event was self-selected out of personal events (e.g. death of family member) - Asked how much they rehearsed the events overtly (discussing with others) or covertly (private rehearsing / ruminating)
FINDINGS - Found the assassination of JFK lead to the most flashbulb memories (90%) - African Americans recalled more FBMs about civil rights leaders more than White Americans (e.g. Martin Luther King) - For last event, most participants recalled shocking events e.g. death of a perent
CONCLUSION - Supported FBM theory in that
FBMs form in situations where we encounter surprising / highly emotional information
Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal
Differ from other memories in that they are more detailed, accurate, and they last longer
FINDINGS - Participants had vivid memories of events that were surprising / highly emotional - Maintained by overt and covert rehearsal - Are more detailed, last longer, more consistent than other memories
EVALUATION - High ecological validity - recollection of real event - People might interpret from their current perspective and not in the highly emotional context in which the memory was formed - Emotions may make memories less reliable
Neisser (1962) refutes FBM by saying that they are only vivid because an event with high emotional impact is rehearsed a lot. This large amount of rehearsal may distort the memory as well as make it seem more descriptive.
STUDY: Neisser and Harsch - Challenger Study
AIM: Evaluate the theory and existence of FBM
PROCEDURE - Study was based upon the Challenger space shuttle incident - 24 hours after the incident, subjects were asked about what they remembered - Similar questions were asked 3 years later - They were also asked to rate their confidence on the accuracy of recall
FINDINGS - 3 of 44 students had perfect recall - 25% had a completely inaccurate memory - 40% had distorted memories, possibly influenced by post-event information - Subjects were confident in their recall
CONCLUSION - Challenges the existence of FBM and the reliability of memory - Backs up the theory that memory is reconstructive (Bartlett) - FBMs may just be ordinary memories but seem more vivid due to a lot of rehearsal
EVALUATION - Memory may not have had personal relevance - Only students were used - age and culture bias - Emotional arousal may be different from person to person (subjective)
Freud theorised that deeply emotional / traumatic memories may be repressed, both a subconscious and conscious attempt to avoid the emotions brought up by the event. This may be to protect ego.
Evaluation
Explains why some memories can be vivid
Has been supported by some studies
Studies that disprove FBM failed to show immediacy between event and subject
Is not entirely reliable (eyewitness testimony), memory distortions present when there is a lot of rehearsal
Emotions may effect memory negatively - repression
Depression and other disorders may affect memory
Many studies disprove FBM
Better recall / vivid detail may be due to multiple rehearsals