emotion and cognition
FLASHBULB MEMORY
SPECIAL-MECHANISM HYPOTHESIS
IMPORTANCE-DRIVEN MODEL
argues for the existence of a special biological memory mechanism
when triggered by an event exceeding critical levels of surprise, creates a permanent record of the details and circumstances surrounding the event
also argues these memories are resistant to forgetting
model emphasizes that personal consequences determine intensity of emotional reactions
⭐ brown & kulik ( 1977 )
NEISSER & HARSCH ( 1992 )
we appear to better remember those experiences with emotions; they are rich and diverse and often make an experience seem special
a special neural mechanism that triggers emotional arousal as the event is unexpected or extremely important
supported by a modern neuroscience: emotional events are better remembered perhaps because of the critical role of the amygdala
found that people said they had very clear memories of where they were, what they did and what they felt when they first learned about an important public occurrence
80 participants given a series of 9 events - i.e. the assassination of President Kennedy - and asked if they "recalled the circumstance in which you heard about the event"
if answered "yes" they then wrote an account of their memory and rate it on a scale of personal importance
73 of the 80 people also said they had flashbulb memories associated with a personal shock such as the sudden death of a close relative
more recent research has found that the amygdala, a small structure in the temporal lobe, appears to be critical in the brain's emotional circuit and believed to play a critical role in emotional memories
when we are stressed, afraid, or surprised we get a rush of adrenaline
research by Cahill and McGaugh ( 1995 ) found that participants remember details when they had an emotional response but remembered less when adrenaline levels were artificially suppressed
argues that it's ones level of confidence, not accuracy, which defines flashbulb memory
research by Quervain et al ( 2007 ) argues that there may be genetic roots to one's likelihood of having flashbulb memories - the gene for a2b-adrenoceptor comes in two variations: the researcher hypothesised that one variation would result in better emotional memories than the other
THE SOMATIC MARKER HYPOTHESIS ( 1994 )
neurologist Antionio Damasio noticed that some of the brain-damaged patients he was working with consistently made poor decisions, often doing things that were likely to negatively impact their welfare
he realised all of these patients had suffered bilateral damage ( in both hemispheres ) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
these patients found it hard to plan ahead and would repeatedly make the same 'bad' decisions which caused them to lose money, friends or status
when their decision-making was tested in a lab however, there did not seem to be any problem; their intellect and memory capacity seemed unaffected
Damasio wondered if somehow this damage caused patients to lose connection between emotional information and decision making
involved in somatic markers - feelings in the body that are associated with emotions, such as the association of a rapid heartbeat with anxiety or nausea with disgust
and if this layer of information was removed when we try to decide what to do in a difficult situation