Why so negative? Positive flashbulb memories for a personal event

Abstract

Flashbulb memories are highly vivid and long-lasting memories for events that are emotionally significant and personally important. Research in this area typically focuses on negative events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the events of 11 September 2001, and the start of Operation Desert Storm. However, the current study examines flashbulb memory formation to the positive event of receiving an invitation to join a university-wide social organisation (Greek Life). Results suggest that this is an event capable of producing vivid flashbulb memories with high ratings of belief in accuracy and high consistency over time.

Keywords:

• Flashbulb
• Positive
• Consistency

The authors would like to thank the University of North Texas Greek Life System for agreeing to participate in this study. In particular we thank Dr Amy Ayres, Associate Dean of Students, for her cooperation and enthusiasm for our project. We would also like to thank Kayla Martinez, Ashraf Rayani, and Amanda Schneider for coding the memory narratives.

The authors would like to thank the University of North Texas Greek Life System for agreeing to participate in this study. In particular we thank Dr Amy Ayres, Associate Dean of Students, for her cooperation and enthusiasm for our project. We would also like to thank Kayla Martinez, Ashraf Rayani, and Amanda Schneider for coding the memory narratives.