PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -Brown and Kulik (1977) called such autobiographical memories flashbulb memories (FBMs) in order to capture their impression that people had taken a photograph of themselves while learning of a public, emotionally charged event such as the Kennedy assassination.

Detailed explanation-2: -This theory can be used to show how emotion may affect cognition. FBM theory claims that two significant factors lead to FBMs being created: (a) a high level of surprise, (b) high levels of emotion. If these two variables are not present there won’t be FBM creation.

Detailed explanation-3: -Brown and Kulik (1977) found that participants tended to have vivid memories of political assassinations: 75% of black people who were asked about the assassination of Martin Luther King could recall it, compared to only 33% of white people. This shows the importance of relevance.

Detailed explanation-4: -The seminal FBM article is that of Brown and Kulik 1977, which described a questionnaire study in which participants were asked to report the circumstances in which they first learned of surprising, consequential public events, such as the iconic example of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.