Flashbulb Memories, the Nature of

Psychologists interested in people's memories of life events have suggested that memories of some events may be different from others in that people are able to recall not only the events but also the circumstances surrounding the events and, further, that these memories may be more detailed and subject to less forgetting than others. These memories have been termed flashbulb memories. Two fundamental questions psychologists have posed with regard to flash-bulb memories are whether they are somehow special with regard to the nature of the information stored about the event and whether they respond differently to the ravages of time than other memories. Another important question is what factor or factors contribute to the formation of a flashbulb memory. In other words, what, exactly, is ...