A Test of Flashbulb Memory: Tuesday, September 11, 2001

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On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, terrorists struck the United States by hijacking planes in Boston, Washington D.C., and Newark and crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in rural Pennsylvania. Tuesday, September 11, 2001 has immediately been classified with a small group of "infamous" dates, including December 7, 1941, November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968, January 28, 1986, and April 19, 1995. Each of these dates mark tragic and history-altering events in America. Furthermore, most Americans who witnessed these days will tell you, "I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news". Cognitive psychologists have referred to the phenomenon of exceptional memory for salient events as "flashbulb memory". To the layperson, flashbulb memories are unique in that they are more vivid and more easily recalled than other memories. However, research on flashbulb memory has suggested that they are not special. Instead, research suggests that flashbulb memories are susceptible to the same restructuring processes as other memories. However, research on flashbulb memory is limited for obvious reasons. Further, since the cognitive revolution of the 1950's, this country has witnessed very few events that compare to the events of Tuesday, September 11. If ever there was an event that should fall under the category of "flashbulb" this one should be it. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to assess people's memory for the events of Tuesday, September 11. Memory for events, confidence in memory, and emotional reaction will be assessed immediately (i.e., approximately one week following the events) and will be assessed again 11 and 23 months later. The hypothesis under investigation is whether salient events, which are accompanied by strong affect and emotion, are recalled with accuracy over a long period of time, or whether memory of these events is susceptible to distortion.