Flashbulb memories of Paris attacks

Abstract

Rationale:Flashbulb memories are detailed and vivid memories of attributes of the reception context of surprising and emotionally arousing public events.Patient concerns and diagnosis:This paper offers a fine-grained view of flashbulb memories in a patient with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD).Interventions:The patient underwent a directed interview about the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris.Outcomes:Unlike her memory about the date and month of the attacks, the patient provided accurate information about the year, time and places they occurred. The patient also provided accurate information about how she first became aware of the attacks, where she was, with whom, what she was doing, and what time it was when she learned about them. As for the affective characteristics of these memories, she tended to have high ratings of vividness and rehearsal. Negative emotional states and great surprise and novelty were also reported.Lessons:By assessing the impact of flashbulb memories in this patient with AD, this paper offers a unique view into how such memories may trigger a considerable recall of context as well much subjective reliving.

Under the veil of tolerance: A justification–suppression approach to anti-Islamic implicit bias in reaction to terrorist attacks.

“…The two memories were presented in random order and counterbalanced across participants. This memory recall protocol was based on procedures used to evaluate flashbulb memories (Conway et al, 1994; El Haj et al, 2016). Further details about the memory recall procedure are available online (https://osf.io/x7z4f/).…”

“…Next, participants were asked to recall a personally important school-related memory and then answered 15 questions concerning the event (e.g., “How easily do you remember who you were with when this event happened?”). These memory recall questions, adapted from flashbulb memory research (Conway et al, 1994; El Haj et al, 2016), are available online (https://osf.io/x7z4f/). After recalling the personal memory, participants carried out the shooter task used in Study 3.…”

The life span distribution of autobiographical memory in Alzheimer’s disease.

“…Finally, as emotion may modulate memory in AD (e.g., El Haj, Gandolphe, & Wawrziczny, & Antoine, 2016; Kalenzaga, Bugaïska, & Clarys, 2013), future research should evaluate the emotional valence of the word- and object-cues to see if this influences recall. It may be that object cues by nature are more personal relevant to the participants, and thus carry higher positive valence, which may lead to better recall.…”