25 Years Later, Do You Remember 9/11? |
Most people can still remember hearing the news about 9-11.
The surprisingly detailed and long-lasting memories reflect normal processes rather than a special mechanism.
Flashbulb memories often include errors although people remain confident in the accuracy of their memories.
Politicians also have errors in their memories, possibly reflecting political goals guiding reconstuction.
After 25 years, do you remember where you were when you learned about September 11th, 2001? As we encounter another anniversary of 9-11, you probably find those memories coming to mind. Most people recall hearing the news. Your memory may feel particularly clear and accurate. My memory of hearing the news feels real and complete. But why do we remember these events and are our memories actually accurate?
Old Enough to Remember
If you were older than 4 or 5, you probably remember hearing the news, based on Winograd and Killinger's (1983) research on the memories of hearing about John F. Kennedy’s assassination. People who were in the first few years of life, they didn’t recall much – evidence of childhood amnesia, perhaps. But most people over the age of 4 had some memories. For 9-11, if you’re older than 30, you probably have a memory. Why do these memories stand out?
Why Do We Recall Hearing about 9-11?
At one time, the argument was that these memories were unique. Brown and Kulik (1977) proposed that a special memory mechanism was involved in creating such "flashbulb" memories. They likened it to taking a picture, the flashbulb as a metaphor. They made the argument that these memories were long-lasting and detailed—seemingly more than other memories. Psychologists have noted that hearing the news of shocking and important events results in these types of memories, at least since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Colgrove, 1899).
But it is unlikely that we need a special mechanism to explain these long-lasting memories. Instead, these flashbulb memories probably reflect normal memory processes (Neisser, 1982/2000). The events are important.........