ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the naturalistic approaches to Flashbulb memories (FBM), based on retrospective recollections, surveys or longitudinal and/or cross-sectional methods. It presents a new procedure used to assess autobiographical memory based upon implicit measures; the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT), which goes beyond traditional explicit assessment. The most traditional FBM works have been retrospective, cross-sectional, and/or longitudinal studies. In the FBM field, naturalistic studies have generally focused on investigating the processes of memory formation and retention. A considerable amount of FBM research has used different parameters as proxies for FBM accuracy; quantity of details provided in memory, confidence, and consistency. Autobiographical memory is generally measured through procedures focused on an individual's capacity to recall stored events from the past, rather than detecting a true specific autobiographical memory. Alternative methods to identify if an autobiographical event is true have relied upon implicit measures. The aIAT procedure is confirmed as being a robust tool to detect FBMs.
