Olivier Luminet

Antonietta Curci

We all have memories of highly emotional personal and public events that may have happened some years ago but which are felt as strongly as if they happened yesterday. We remember where they happened, the people who were with us, and seemingly irrelevant details such as the weather, particular sounds or specific clothes. Why do we remember these things? Is it because such events are so deeply emotional or so unexpected or because people talk about them so many times? Why are these "flashbulb memories" so vivid and lasting? Flashbulb Memories: New Issues and New Perspectives explores these questions in the first book on flashbulb memories (FBMs) for more than a decade. It considers the many developments over the last 10 years, including new models of FBM formation, advances in statistical methods and neuroscience, and two key public events, the death of Princess Diana and the September 11th attacks in the US, which can help test FBM. The book examines the status of FBMs as "special" or "ordinary" memory formations, and the expert contributors represent a balance between those that favour each approach. It also investigates controversial topics of research such as: Are emotional, cognitive, or social factors highly relevant for the formation of FBMs? How can sociological, historical, and cultural issues help us to understand the process of FBMs? What are the differences between FBMs, memories for traumatic experiences, and highly vivid personal memories? How can we provide a valid and reliable measure for FBMs? This book gathers together specialists in the field in order to make significant progress in this area of research which has remained divisive for the past 30 years. It will provide essential reading for researchers in FBM and also be of interest to those in related areas such as social psychology, cognitive psychology, cross-cultural psychology, sociology, political sciences and history as well as clinicians dealing with those who have strong FBMs after personal traumatic events.

New Issues and New Perspectives

Flashbulb Memories

Are Flashbulb memories special or ordinary memory formations? Are emotional, cognitive, or social factors highly relevant for the formation of Flashbulb memories? How can sociological, historical, and cultural issues help us to understand the process? What is the difference between Flashbulb memories, memories of traumatic experiences, and highly vivid personal memories? How can we provide a valid and reliable measure for Flashbulb memories? This edition of Flashbulb Memories: New Challenges and Future Perspectives revisits these questions, considering significant new evidence and research in the field. It now includes additional chapters focusing on experimental investigations, and review studies on positive vs. negative Flashbulb memories. Bringing together leading international researchers, the book presents significant progress in this area of research, which has remained divisive for the past 40 years. The discussion of Flashbulb memories also contributes to the understanding of the general functioning of autobiographical memory. It will provide essential reading for researchers in Flashbulb memories and will be of great interest to those in related areas such as cognitive psychology, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, sociology, political sciences, and history, as well as clinicians dealing with those who have strong Flashbulb memories after personal traumatic events.

Antonietta Curci

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