Two weeks ago Jim described a vivid, flashbulb memory from his childhood of the day he found

out that his parents won the lottery. He remembered exactly where he was sitting in his house
and what board game he and his siblings were playing when they head the news. He even
recalled the score of the game. Recently Jim discovered that he was completely wrong about
his recall of that day. How would you explain his inaccurate memory of this experience?

The first thing we need to know to figure this out is what a flashbulb memory is.
Flashbulb memory is a type of automatic encoding system that makes a detailed and vivid
snapshot of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of shocking or surprising news was
heard. The reason it’s called flashbulb memory is because it’s like taking a photo of a specific
time. There are a few different things that can cause Jim to loss parts of this memory. It could
be caused by aging, brain damage, or even misconception of flashbulb memory.
Jim’s story was told from childhood. As people get older, they start to forget memories
and moments in their lives. As time progresses, memory may fade which is called decay
memory. As Jim has gotten older it is possible that the information has become less available
for retrieval and has started to wear away. This could be the reason that he remembers his
parents winning the lottery because that was the shocking or surprising news that triggered the
memory but everything else that wasn’t as important has faded.
Flashbulb memory is stored in the amygdala which is where memories involving
emotional arousal are found. Research shows that a rapid emotion detection system involving
the amygdala plays a crucial role in flashbulb memories. If Jim was to have damaged his
amygdala it would be another reason that he cannot recall things about that day other, then his
parents winning the lottery.
The final reason is because of the way flashbulb memories work. It has been argued for
many years that flashbulb memories aren’t actually very stable overtime. Some people believe
that they are stronger than normal memories because of the emotional involvement and they
last longer. While some believe that after a few months most of the memory is gone and all
that can be remembered is what triggered that high emotion and not what was happening or
happened. If the latter is true, then this could be another reason that Jim does not remember
the details of that day and only that his parents won the lottery.