{"id":10052,"date":"2017-10-31T11:11:12","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T02:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ibpsych.themantic-education.com\/?p=10052"},"modified":"2025-02-09T03:37:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T18:37:58","slug":"flashbulb-memory-theory-brown-and-kulik-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2017\/10\/31\/flashbulb-memory-theory-brown-and-kulik-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashbulb Memory Theory (Brown and Kulik, 1977)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Flashbulb memories are <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u201c<em>memories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a very surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) event.\u201d (Brown and Kulik, 1977).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For example, remembering where you were when you found out you got accepted into your dream college, that a loved one had passed away or a public news event like the death of a celebrity. This definition is important to remember, as many people mistakenly define FBMs as memories of an event. Remember, an FBM is not a memory of an event &#8211; it&#8217;s the memory of circumstances surrounding hearing news of the event.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2018\/05\/03\/flashbulb-memory-studies\/\">Flashbulb Memory Studies<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2018\/07\/19\/key-study-fbm-across-cultures-by-kulkofsky-et-al-2011\/\">Key Study: FBM across cultures by Kulkofsky et al. (2011)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><em>This theory can be used to show how emotion may affect cognition.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>FBM theory claims that two significant factors lead to FBMs being created:<\/p>\n<p>(a) a high level of surprise,<\/p>\n<p>(b) high levels of emotion.<\/p>\n<p>If these two variables are not present there won\u2019t be FBM creation. This is because\u00a0the surprise and emotion lead to increase rehearsal of the memory, both overtly (publicly) and covertly (internally). This rehearsal is what strengthens the memory.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>This video explains FBM Theory and how emotion can affect cognition.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zjzglgx-SRE?si=NO16mRDCYXWIRSIu\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The final claim of the theory is that there is a physiological process that facilitates the creation and consolidation of FBMs. Even though Brown and Kulik admitted in their original 1977 paper that there was limited evidence for this neuro-physiological correlation with FBMs, more modern research could provide some support for this claim.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10080\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10080\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10080\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/10\/bigstock-unbeliveable-young-shocked-su-171473921.jpg?resize=786%2C525&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Unbeliveable! Young Shocked Surprised Man In Glasses Looking On\" width=\"786\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/10\/bigstock-unbeliveable-young-shocked-su-171473921.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/10\/bigstock-unbeliveable-young-shocked-su-171473921.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/10\/bigstock-unbeliveable-young-shocked-su-171473921.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 786px) 100vw, 786px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I can vividly picture where I was when I was playing an online quiz game on Facebook ten years ago, when I found out Heath Ledger died as it was one of the quiz questions.<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>According to Brown and Kulik, FBMs often include these features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the place where the news was heard (Place)<\/li>\n<li>the person who supplied the information (Informant)<\/li>\n<li>what they were doing at the time of hearing the news (Ongoing event)<\/li>\n<li>their emotional state upon receiving the news (Own affect)<\/li>\n<li>the emotional state of others (Affect of others)<\/li>\n<li>the consequences of the event for the individual (aftermath)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>To summarize, when describing FBM theory make sure you include:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>An accurate definition of an FBM<\/li>\n<li>An explanation of how surprise and emotion lead to increased rehearsal, thus forming the FBM.<\/li>\n<li>The neuro-physiological claim made in the theory.<\/li>\n<li>Some of the key details of memory that are recalled in an FBM<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Brown, Roger, and James Kulik. \u201cFlashbulb Memories.\u201d\u00a0<i>Cognition<\/i>, vol. 5, no. 1, 1977, pp. 73\u201399.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This video from our youtube channel will help show you how to use FBM to discuss how cultural factors can affect cognition.<\/p>\n[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QWy6OUnFMek&amp;w=560&amp;h=315]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flashbulb memories are \u201cmemories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a very surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) event.\u201d (Brown and Kulik, 1977). For example, remembering where you were when you found out you got accepted into your dream college, that a loved one had passed away or a public news event like the death of a &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2017\/10\/31\/flashbulb-memory-theory-brown-and-kulik-1977\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cognitive-psychology","category-studies-and-theories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Flashbulb Memory Theory (Brown and Kulik, 1977) | The IB Psychology Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand the key elements of Flashbulb Memory Theory, including how surprise and emotion lead to increased rehearsal and the physiological process involved. 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They were asked questions about 10 events, 9 being very famous public\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cognitive Psychology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cognitive Psychology","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/cognitive-psychology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/wtc_smoking_on_9-11.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/wtc_smoking_on_9-11.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/wtc_smoking_on_9-11.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/wtc_smoking_on_9-11.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/wtc_smoking_on_9-11.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11280,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2018\/07\/19\/key-study-fbm-across-cultures-by-kulkofsky-et-al-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":10052,"position":1},"title":"Key Study: FBM across cultures by Kulkofsky et al. (2011)","author":"admin","date":"07\/19\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Relevant Topics: Emotion and Cognition & Cultural Dimensions This study compares flashbulb memory (FBM) formation across different cultures. It can be used to show the effects of one cultural dimension (individualism and collectivism) on behaviour (FBM formation). If you're using FBM theory to explain how emotion can affect cognition, this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cognitive Psychology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cognitive Psychology","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/cognitive-psychology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/bigstock-135184295.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/bigstock-135184295.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/bigstock-135184295.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/bigstock-135184295.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/bigstock-135184295.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1459,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2016\/10\/25\/what-is-a-psychological-theory\/","url_meta":{"origin":10052,"position":2},"title":"What is a psychological theory?","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"10\/25\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In the IB Psychology course there are a range of theories that students need to be familiar with. But it's easy to dive straight into the complex assignments like evaluating these theories, and to overlook asking the simple questions. Here are just some of the theories that may be relevant*\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14307,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2021\/10\/04\/key-study-levels-of-processing-craik-and-tulving-1975\/","url_meta":{"origin":10052,"position":3},"title":"Key Study: Levels of Processing (Craik and Tulving, 1975)","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"10\/04\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Background Information The multi-store model of memory (MSM), while straightforward, seemingly common sense, and with plenty of empirical support, is not without its limitations. Do you really need to pay attention to, and rehearse, all sensory information in order for it to be transferred to your long-term memory? Take, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cognitive Psychology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cognitive Psychology","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/cognitive-psychology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14038,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2021\/04\/23\/the-5-best-theories-for-the-ia\/","url_meta":{"origin":10052,"position":4},"title":"The 5 best theories for the IA","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"04\/23\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In this post I'll outline the five theories I think are the best to base your experiment on. I'll suggest some good studies that go with those theories.\u00a0 We always think about the IA based on the key study being replicated. But since the most important thing is the background\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Internal Assessment (IB)&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Internal Assessment (IB)","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/internal-assessment-ib\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/puzzle-5708607__340.jpeg?fit=510%2C340&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12383,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2019\/11\/06\/key-studies-for-the-ia\/","url_meta":{"origin":10052,"position":5},"title":"Key Studies for the IA","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"11\/06\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Disclaimer: This list contains studies that have been conducted successfully by students in the past. However, it's the responsibility of teachers and students to assess the suitability of specific studies for the internal assessment. 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