While the term ‘flashbulb memory’ implies shock, illumination, brevity and detail, a memory of this type is far from complete. Roger Brown and James Kulik coined the term ‘flashbulb memory’ in 1977. Where you where, what you were doing, how you were informed, and how you reacted, as if the whole scene had been 'illuminated' by a flashbulb. The analogy of a flashbulb describes the way we can often remember Flashbulb Memories are memories that are affected by our emotional state. They ‘feel’ accurate (we are confident in recall) but are just as prone to forgetting & change as other episodic memories.Ī flashbulb memory is an accurate and exceptionally vivid long-lasting memory for the circumstances surrounding learning about a dramatic event. Relatively little evidence for flashbulb memories as a distinct memory process.The amygdala seems to play a key role in the formation and retrieval of flashbulb memories.The vividness and accuracy of flashbulb memories can vary across age and culture.The photographic model, the comprehensive model and the emotional-integrative model are some models which have been employed to study the phenomenon of flashbulb memory.Debate centers on whether they are a special case (resistant to forgetting over time.Roger Brown and James Kulik introduced the term ‘flashbulb memory’ in 1977 in their study of individuals’ ability to recall consequential and surprising events.

A flashbulb memory is a highly vivid and detailed ‘snapshot’ of a moment in which a consequential, surprising and emotionally arousing piece of news was learned.

Flashbulb memory