The Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Impacts of the September 11 Attacks: Group Differences in Memory for the Reception Context and the Determinants of Flashbulb Memory

Abstract

The authors examined group differences in memories for hearing the news of and reactions to the September 11 attacks in 2001. They measured memory for reception context (immediate memory for the circumstances in which people first heard the news) and 11 predictors of the consistency of memory for reception context over time (flashbulb memory). Shortly after 9/11, a questionnaire was distributed to 3,665 participants in 9 countries. U.S. vs. non-U.S. respondents showed large differences in self-rated importance of the news and in memory for event-related facts. The groups showed moderate differences in background knowledge and emotional-feeling states. Within non-U.S. groups, there were large differences for emotional-feeling states and moderate differences for personal rehearsal, background knowledge, and attitudes toward the United States. The authors discuss the implications of those findings for the study of group differences in memory and for the formation of flashbulb memories.

Memories of the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001: A Study of the Consistency and Phenomenal Characteristics of Flashbulb Memories

“…These events were clearly very appropriate for research in flashbulb memories, as they were surprising, shocking, and probably submitted to a considerable amount of rehearsal. In fact, several studies about flashbulb memories for the September 11 th terrorist attacks have recently appeared (Budson et al, 2004;Lee & Brown, 2003;Luminet et al, 2004;Niedzwienska, 2004;Pezdek, 2003;Schmidt, 2004;Smith, Bibi, & Sheard, 2003;Talarico & Rubin, 2003;Tekcan, Ece, Gülgoz, & Er, 2003). The present study was also intended to investigate flashbulb memories of the circumstances in which people first heard about the atrocities carried out by Al Qaeda terrorists against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington on September 11, 2001.…”

Propiedades psicométricas de una prueba de Recuerdos Flashbulb

“…Posteriormente, se reportó en diversas investigaciones Luminet, et al, 2004). Para este estudio, se retomó el modelo descrito por Luminet y Curci (2009).…”

“…La prueba original descrita por Luminet et al, (2004) cuenta con nueve preguntas acerca de la ME de los ataques del 11-S. Sin embargo, cabe recordar que ese hecho en específico estaba cargado de información e implicó un ataque simultáneo al Pentágono.…”

“…Para la presente investigación, se retomó el cuestionario descrito por Luminet y Curci (2009) compuesto por siete dimensiones teóricamente reconocidas como fundamentales para la formación de un MFB. Sin embargo, este cuestionario fue desarrollado para evaluar la memoria del contexto de recepción de la noticia de los atentados a las Torres Gemelas de Nueva York, más conocido como 11-S (Luminet et al, 2004). Por esa razón, buena parte del cuestionario hubo de adaptarse a las características de un acontecimiento diferente: la noticia de la muerte de Osama bin Laden en un operativo realizado por un cuerpo élite del ejército norteamericano.…”

Flashbulb memories for Paris attacks in an alcohol-abstinent patient

“…The case study design was implemented due the number of variables that were considered: our study assessed event memory, flashbulb memory, as well as subjective reliving of flashbulb memories (i.e., vividness, rehearsal, emotion, surprise, novelty, and importance). The latter characteristics were implemented following research on flashbulb memories in normal subjects [20,[32][33][34] as well as the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire [35] which was designed to evaluate autobiographical reliving. Because studies with long abstinence duration suggest that recovery or substantial improvements in memory functions can occur [7,[36][37][38], it would be of interest to assess whether flashbulb memories would trigger high recall as well as extensive reliving in alcohol abstinence.…”