A ten-year follow-up of a study of memory for the attack of September 11, 2001: Flashbulb memories and memories for flashbulb events.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective longitudinal cohort study (graded by design analogy for non-clinical research)
PubMed 25751741 · doi:10.1037/xge0000055
What was done
A nationwide consortium administered surveys within one week of the September 11, 2001 attacks to assess participants' flashbulb memories (circumstances of learning about the attack) and event memories (factual knowledge of the attack). Follow-up surveys were completed at 11, 25, and 119 months (10 years) after the event. The study evaluated long-term retention curves and examined five potential predictors of consistency and accuracy: media attention, discussion frequency, residency, personal loss or inconvenience, and emotional intensity.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, percentages, or sample sizes. Forgetting of both flashbulb and event memories was rapid during the first year and leveled off thereafter, showing no significant change up to 10 years. Confidence remained high throughout the decade. None of the five examined factors predicted flashbulb memory consistency at 10 years, though media attention and conversation predicted event memory accuracy. Inconsistent flashbulb memories were more frequently repeated rather than corrected, whereas inaccurate event memories were more likely to be corrected.
Why it matters
This paper provides long-term evidence that flashbulb memories stabilize after initial rapid forgetting while retaining high subjective confidence. It highlights a critical distinction between factual event memory, which is amenable to external correction, and personal episodic recall, which tends to preserve introduced errors over time.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose sample sizes (n), demographic composition, attrition rates across the 10-year period, or quantitative metrics and effect sizes for the reported retention and prediction models.
Cited by
- supports Experiencing or observing traumatic, emotionally shocking events forms flashbulb memories.