Brown and Kulik

1977

Aim To investigate FBM and how it works

Interviewed 80 Americans
- 40 African Americans
- 40 Caucasian Americans
Had to answer questions about 10 events
- 9 of these events were mostly on assassinations or attempted assassinations of well-known American
Method personalities
- The last event was self-selected of personal events that included self-shock
They were asked how much they rehearsed these events (overtly or covertly)
- Overly: rehearsal by discussing with other people
- Covertly: private rehearsing or ruminating
They found that J.F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 led to the most flashbulb memories of all participants
(90% of participants recalled this in context and with vivid detail)
African Americans recalled more FBM's of civil right leaders; e.g. the assassination of Martin Luther King
Results more than the Caucasians recalled it (as a FBM)
For the tenth event (which was self-selected) most participants recalled shocking events like the death of a
parent

Conclusion This study carried out by Brown and Kulik (1977) supported the theories of flashbulb memories whereby they
were:
Form in situations where we encounter surprising and highly emotional information
Are maintained by means of overt rehearsal (discussion with others) and covert rehearsal
(private)
Differ from other memories in that they are more vivid, last longer and are more consistent and accurate
 Brown and Kulik
1977

Require for their creation the involvement of a specialized neural mechanism which stores information
permanently in a unique memory system
Brown and Kulik
1977