Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process. Done by. Daeun and Lynn

Transcription

1 Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process Done by. Daeun and Lynn

2 Theory of Emotion -One theory of how emotion may affect the cognitive process of memory is Flashbulb Memory (FBM) suggested by Brown & Kulik (1977) -Theory of FBM involves how emotion affects memory by enhancing it -According to Le Doux, the arousal of emotion can facilitate the memory of events that occur during the aroused state; however, even though these emotional memories are emotions evoked by a particular event, the memories may not always be correct

3 Flashbulb Memory? Flashbulb Memories is a special kind of emotional memory, which refers to vivid and detailed (photographic-like) memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as though with the help of a camera s flash

4 Explanation -Brown & Kulik (1977) also argued that the special biological memory mechanism of FBM is triggered when an individual usually encounters significant events or experiences therefore creating a FBM of the experiences surrounding the highly emotional experience or traumatic event -FBM theory also have unique features distinguishing them from other memories in that they are more vivid, detailed, accurate, long-lasting, and consistent. *Some events stand out in the memory much more than others When the event happens, the person experiences a highly emotional state, extreme happiness, extreme sadness and more. The result is that this event is imprinted on the memory

5 Brown and Kulik (1977) Aim: To investigate FBM and how it works (to support their theory) Methods: Interviewed 80 Americans -40 African Americans -40 Caucasian Americans Had to answer questions about 10 events -9 of these events were mostly on assassinations or attempted assassinations of wellknown American personalities -The last event was self-selected of personal events that included self-shock They were asked how much they rehearsed these events (overtly or covertly) -Overly: rehearsal by discussing with other people -Covertly: private rehearsing or ruminating

6 Results -They found that J.F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 led to the most flashbulb memories of all participants (90% of participants recalled this in context and with vivid detail) -African Americans recalled more FBM's of civil right leaders; e.g. the assassination of Martin Luther King more than the Caucasians recalled it (as a FBM) -For the tenth event (which was self-selected) most participants recalled shocking events like the death of a parent

7 Conclusion This study carried out by Brown and Kulik (1977) supported the theories of flashbulb memories whereby they were: -Form in situations where we encounter surprising and highly emotional information -Are maintained by means of overt rehearsal (discussion with others) and covert rehearsal -Differ from other memories in that they are more vivid, last longer and are more consistent and accurate -Require for their creation the involvement of a specialized neural mechanism which stores information permanently in a unique memory system

8 Evaluation Strengths Weaknesses Many participants thus high ecological validity to Americans Participants and related events questioned on were all related to Americans thus cannot be generalized to the rest of the population Naturalistic because the reactions and memories of events were from real life events Very retrospective as it is hard to test memories and how vivid and accurate they are in

9 Flashbulb Memory Components According to Brown and Kulik (1977), the event must be surprising and have real consequences for the person s life. Some studies have indicated that childhood memories with high emotional context, such as high school graduation can be as vivid and clear as flashbulb memories of less personal importance, such as national events Brown and Kulik also suggested that there may be a special neural mechanism which triggers an emotional arousal because the emotional event is unexpected or extremely important They also believed that this is a special type of memory because of the detail and accuracy with which the event is remembered and the fact that the structural form of the memory is always so similar

10 Evidence supporting FBM Conway et al. (1994) Aim: To test the theory of FBM Methods: Participants were either UK or non-uk undergraduates Was based on the resignation of Margaret Thatcher (British Prime Minister,1990) Participants were asked and interviewed about the event a few days after the event Participants were asked and interviewed about the event a few days after the event

11 Results -They found that 86% of UK participants still had FBM of the resignation of Margaret Thatcher -While there were fewer non-uk participants (29%) had flashbulb memories of the event Conclusion Thus, Conway claimed that this event met the criteria for FBM for British people as it was an unexpected and highly significant event pertaining to their culture, therefore arousing deep emotions, influencing the special neural mechanisms and therefore creating FBM of the event

12 Evaluation Strengths Weaknesses Real event: ecologically valid Distress in having to remember a tragic event Interview: in depth qualitative data Some methodology was not controlled Suggests that flashbulb memories exist and are different from normal memories

13 Evidence arguing against FMB Neisser and Harsch (1992) -Neisser questioned the idea of FBM s, in which he suggested that the memories are so vivid because the event itself is rehearsed and reconsidered after the event -Neisser also argued that FBM s are subject to the same types of inaccuracy and forgetting as any other memories

14 Aim: To investigate the accuracy of flashbulb memory Methods: -Participants were asked to report on the circumstances of their learning about the challenger space disaster in Neisser and Harsch investigated people s memory accuracy of the incident 24 hours after the accident and then again two years later

15 Results -1 day after the disaster, 215 of the participants reported that they heard about the disaster on television -Those that recalled 2 and a half years later, 45% said they heard it on television -Clearly, their memories of how they learned the news about the challenger disaster changed over time -Assuming that participants' memories were more accurate one day after the disaster, it can be concluded that their memories about how they had heard about the news had deteriorated significantly during the subsequent two and a half years. -This thus suggests that FBM are not reliable (as influenced by post-event information)

16 In conclusion, FBM (affected by emotion) can influence the recall of memories, however, it is hard to test accuracy of memories as the evidence is very retrospective *Overall Strengths: The majority of research into flashbulb memories is naturalistic. It all involves people s reactions and memories formed from real life events *Overall Weaknesses: However, the studies can lack reliability as they cannot really be replicated. Therefore, we cannot test to see how consistent the results are.

17 THANK YOU! :)