Do Flashbulb memories differ from other forms of memory?
“Our past is preserved in a variety of memories of very different nature” (Salaman, 1970)
There are many proposed divisions and sub-divisions of human memory, such as working memory, procedural memory, semantic memory or episodic memory. Many of the systems seem to overlap, with each having varying functions related to the maintenance of what is essentially human life. For example, episodic and autobiographical memory fundamentally share the same functions. One of the many functions is what Tulving (1983) called “Mental time travel”, the ability to experience past event. Autobiographical memories are thought to be structured at different levels of temporal and spatial specificity that together are used as reference for the construction of “self”. This mental time travel can take place through different hierarchic levels of autobiographical organisation. The hierarchy level can be as general as “university” or as specific as remembering the topic of conversation with a certain person on a certain day (Cohen, 1998). Autobiographical memories are therefore seen as being autonoetic in that they carry information about the context in which they were experienced.
One example of an extreme form of contextual specific memory is the death of Princess Diana. Many people especially the media ask a common question such as “what were you doing when you heard the news”. Many people claim to be able to remember such major moments with unusual clarity and vividness, as if the events were etched on their minds throughout their lives. The question is whether these “flashbulb memories” are functionally different to all other types of memory such as autobiographical memory.
Brown & Kulik (1977), introduced the term flashbulb memory to describe memories that are preserved in an almost indiscriminate way. They postulated that these flashbulb memories were indeed different from ordinary memories, with some defining characteristics. Although these memories are thought to be photographic in their clarity and detail, they do not preserve all features of an event. Conversely Brown & Kulik proposed that idiosyncratic event details are remembered. These details help form what has been described as a “live” memory in that the “reception field” is remembered including ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘who with’ factors of an event. Brown & Kulik (1977) studied memories for important events such as the death of John F Kennedy. They found that irrelevant details were often recalled and it appeared that they had retained “a brief moment of time associated with an emotional event” (Smyth et al, 1994).
What do events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, The Challenger space shuttle disaster, and hurricane Andrew that shook Miami have in common? All these events can be remembered by the people who experienced it due to flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memories were defined by R. Brown and J. Kulik (1977) as vivid, detailed, and long-lasting memories for attributes of the reception context of public news (Curci, A., & Lanciano, T., 2009). The people who experience such huge events are certain that their flashbulb memories are very accurate and can give in detail what occurred to them in those events (Schwartz, 2013). Furthermore events that generate flashbulb memories are usually very surprising and emotionally arousing and are perceived by the subject as personally consequential (Emotion & Memory 1993). But not all memories need to be negative and tragic. Events like the first day of first grade, your first romantic kiss, your first day at a new job, or recital of your wedding vows can also be described as flashbulb memories (Schwartz, 2013).
Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” is a short science fiction story that explores the principals of linguistic relativity through in interesting relationship between aliens and humans that develops when aliens, known as Heptapods, appear on Earth. In the story Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist hired by the government to learn the Heptapods language, tells her unborn daughter what she has learned from the Heptapods as a result of learning their language. M. NourbeSe Philip’s poem “Discourse on the Logic of Language” also explores the topic of language and translations, as she refers to different languages as her “mother tongue” or “father tongue.” Although these two pieces of literature may not seem to have much in common both explore the topics of language and translation and connect those ideas to power and control.
“Raisin in the Sun” is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry about a struggling African American family living in Chicago. Following the death of of a person who held a key role in their family, they try to determine what to do with the notable insurance money left to them upon their loved one’s death. Beneatha, a daughter and sister in the family, aspires to be a doctor. Hansberry calls attention to the struggles African Americans and women had to face during these times. The prejudice working against Beneatha caused many obstacles to be placed in her path. Beneatha has risen above this prejudice encircling her gender by tearing down the negative stigma that surrounds it.
"For the translator, who stands astride two cultures, possesses two different sensibilities, and assumes a double identity" —Husain Haddawy
Human memory is flexible and prone to suggestion. “Human memory, while remarkable in many ways, does not operate like a video camera” (Walker, 2013). In fact, human memory is quite the opposite of a video camera; it can be greatly influenced and even often distorted by interactions with its surroundings (Walker, 2013). Memory is separated into three different phases. The first phase is acquisition, which is when information is first entered into memory or the perception of an event (Samaha, 2011). The next phase is retention. Retention is the process of storing information during the period of time between the event and the recollection of a piece of information from that event (Samaha, 2011). The last stage is retrieval. Retrieval is recalling stored information about an event with the purpose of making an identification of a person in that event (Samaha, 2011).
...pporting details. At the conclusion of the article, the authors share their thoughts on how it might be virtually impossible to determine when a memory is true or false. I also like their willingness to continue the investigations despite how difficult it might be to obtain concrete answers.
Have you ever experienced an event that was so significant to you that you felt as if your memory was taking a photograph, keeping the memory implanted in your brain for the rest of your life? This is a prime example of flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memory is a term that pertains to a person’s memory of hearing about extremely shocking events (Goldstein, 2011, p. 209). Flashbulb memory is not the memory for the event itself, but it’s the memory of how the person heard about the specific event (Goldstein, 2011, p. 209). This means that a flashbulb memory includes where you were and what you were doing when you found out about a tragic event (Goldstein, 2011, p. 209). Some key attributes of flashbulb memories are that they are both remembered for long periods of time and are exceedingly vivid (Goldstein, 2011, p. 209). A great way to describe flashbulb memories is to compare them to a photo that never fades, proving how relevant these memories are to those who have them (Goldstein, 2011, p. 209).
As I have been reading memoirs about memory for this class, each essay made me recall or even examine my past memory closely. However, the more minutely I tried to recall what happened in the past, the more confused I got because I could not see the clear image and believe I get lost in my own memory, which I thought, I have preserved perfectly in my brain. The loss of the details in each memory has made me a little bit sentimental, feeling like losing something important in my life. But, upon reading those essays, I came to realize that remembering correct the past is not as important as growing up within memory. However, the feelings that were acquired from the past experience tend to linger distinctly. The essay that is related to my experience
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
The human mind is such a complex entity in which it can change one’s concept of extreme situational memories as well as even simple memories. I feel that this has a huge impact upon the judicial system and the type of testimonies that are relied upon for court trials. So many lives are impacted over the result of memory errors that there ought to be more research studies devoted specifically to this topic which deals with false eyewitness testimonies concerning memory errors, and court cases.
According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of past experiences for information to be used in the present. The retrieval of memory is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether it is for academics, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied on because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flashbulb memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications in providing precise details of past events. (The British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay, I would put forth arguments that human memory, in fact, is not completely reliable in providing accurate depictions of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who found that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who found that there is a predisposition for memory to decline with increasing age.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun depicts the struggles of three generations of the Youngers family in the 1950's of poorer Chicago. Act 2, scene 2 of the play displays an understanding of the Youngers and the atmosphere in which they live. In just a few pages, Lorraine Hansberry reveals the struggles enforced upon the characters individually as well as with their united desires as a family. Individually, each character must overcome prejudice from his family and associates, while still enduring struggles and hardships that diminish any intended goals. Together, however, the Younger family must overcome the racial bigotry incurred by society, while still maintaining social pride and integrity. In contrast, a predominant expression of hope and encouragement is a factor in the lives of such characters, as revealed by the author. With the use of dramatic elements to interpret the events of this section of the play, in addition to the issues of race and gender, it is obvious that the Youngers represent a black family struggling towards middleclass respectability not only in society, but in their own home as well.
In human society, translation plays a significant role, which helps realize effective communication among people. Benjamin (as cited in Venuti, 2000) indicates translation is the mode, which plays a function of transmitting information; hence translatability determines whether the information could be effectively and appropriately delivered and is regarded as the “essential quality of certain works”. Throughout history, many scholars have developed translation theories, which provide various effective translation strategies and methods, to explore the translatability. Equivalence theory points out that all languages always share some similarities; hence the languages could be exchanged (Nida, as cited in Venuti, 2000). The skopos theory emphasizes
This view of translation and translation studies was dominant until the emergence of the so-called “cultural turn” in the 1980s. With the shift
There has been a heated discussion in the field of Translation Studies with respect to where the emphasis should be put. Should it be on the source text and the sender, on the target text and the receiver or the process itself? This boils down to how one defines translation. This essay offers a critical view on the Skopos theory, which focuses on the translation process. A discussion is included to illustrate the importance of translation brief in both pedagogical and professional settings. Other related theories are presented as well. Finally, the essay concludes with a few remarks and suggestions.