Far from it! A Quick and Simple Memory Exercise The reason why is that I was so overwhelmed by many emotions, especially given the personal attention he paid to me.īut that doesn’t mean my memories of the time we spent together are accurate. These events might stand out as monumental events or milestones in your life.įor example, meeting Tony Buzan is a personal example from the world of memory training. Some other examples of flashbulb memories might include the birth of your child, college graduation, or getting your first job. Of course, not all such memories involve tragedy. You not only experience such events via television or on the Internet, but you re-experience them multiple times while talking about them in multiple places with multiple people. As a result, they wind up being discussed often. This tendency means that people around also us experienced the events. More often than not, they are public events. When you consider the kinds of things that become flashbulb memories, our brains usually base them on traumatic events. It’s almost as if their memory of an event is like photograph. Yet, many people do describe being able to re-envision detailed information. Keep in mind that “mental imagery” is not necessarily visual. When your brain experiences something traumatic, it often establishes a sharp mental image of that particular event. These factors and more condition the subsequent ways you might experience flashbulb memories. The personal importance you place on the event.Why? Because many factors affect your memory. However, in reality, researchers find that flashbulb memories are mostly haphazard and incomplete. Typically, individuals involved as subjects in memory studies feel extremely confident about their recollections of events like 9/11. Some consider flashbulb memory as a kind of autobiographical memory, which is the recollection of events you have personally experienced. These memories have intrigued memory researchers for decades. It’s the feeling that the memory will last indefinitely, almost as if it were a photograph. I‘m talking about everything from the most crucial details to the most mundane ones. The term flashbulb memory refers to a long lasting vivid memory of the circumstance around the time of receiving a shocking or surprising piece of news or event.Ĭoined as a metaphor in the 1970s, it refers to the feeling of mentally capturing a complete scene in a single moment.īut more than just feeling like you‘ve taken a mental snapshot, the idea is that your mental image includes a ton of information. Just like the time I spent with Tony Buzan, which we’ll talk about in a minute.īut before we define this concept and talk about some powerful memory exercises, let’s look at the history of this term: Flashbulb Memory Defined In fact, chances are that it’s a flashbulb memory. This memory I have about seeing an airplane through the window might not be accurate. I remember it vividly, down to the fact that my eyes traced the sky through the window and instantly fell upon an airplane. My phone rang and my friend Andrew said, “Find a TV.” It’s an irrelevant detail in the overall scope of my life, but the fact that I remember so much minutia is precisely the point.įor example, I was in the cafeteria reading that morning. They remember it vividly.įor example, you might recall exactly what activity you were performing when you learned about the attack. Myself, I was in Stong College on the York University campus, just before a class. If you want to know where or not you have a “flashbulb memory,” here’s a simple memory test:ĭo you remember where you were and what you were doing during the 9/11 attacks?Īfter all, 9/11 was one of the most mentally impacting world events millions of people not only remember. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS
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