ABSTRACT
Flashbulb memories (FBMs) are vivid, long-lasting, detailed, and consistent recollections of specific details for the reception context of shocking public events (location, time, presence of others, the informant, one’s ongoing activity) (Bohannon, 1988; Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994; Neisser & Harsch, 1992). Numerous studies have confirmed that a large proportion of individuals are able to report many details of their memory for the reception context, e.g., exact location, ongoing activity, type of informant, and other idiosyncratic details which often include perceptual aspects (Bohannon, 1988; Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994; Larsen, 1992). There is controversy, however, on the status of FBM as a consistent memory. In some studies FBMs were described as a special class of memories, which persist almost unchanged and are consistent over time (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994; Curci & Luminet, 2006; Pillemer, 1984), even after a very long time (Berntsen & Thomsen, 2005). Other studies concluded that FBMs were neither immune to being forgotten nor uncommonly consistent as time passes (Christianson, 1989; McCloskey, Wible, & Cohen, 1988; Nachson & Zelig, 2003; Neisser & Harsch, 1992; Weaver, 1993). Although confidence scores might be persistently high over time, they were unrelated to consistency of the memories themselves (Neisser & Harsch, 1992; Talarico & Rubin, 2003).
