In our brainy buffet, we're serving up "Flashbulb memories". Picture this, flashbulb memories are like a camera taking a high-res pic of an impactful moment. But how clear are these mental snaps, really? Let's delve into it! 📸

The Case of the Challenger Explosion:

These memory mavens dished out a questionnaire to 106 participants the day after the tragic Challenger Space Shuttle explosion. They asked folks about the deets of when they first heard the news. Now, imagine a time-jump, three years into the future. The same questionnaire was given to the same folks. The shocker? The answers didn't match!

On average, participants got less than half of their facts straight (42% to be precise). Yet, they were super sure (83% confidence) that their memories were spot-on. Talk about misremembering with confidence! This shows that even though flashbulb memories are vivid, they might not always be accurate.🔍

Think of it like this: You're absolutely sure that you ate a strawberry ice cream last summer at the beach, but your Instagram shows it was chocolate. Oops! 🍦

📝 The Post-9/11 Study:

This dynamic duo started their research right after the tragic 9/11 attack. They got 54 students to record their memory of first hearing about the attack and also an everyday event. They checked back in with these students after 1, 6, and 32 weeks.

Results? Both types of memories faded over time. However, students still felt that their 9/11 memory was more vivid and accurate. Surprisingly, the emotional impact didn't correlate with memory accuracy, but rather with belief in their memory's accuracy. So, it's not that flashbulb memories are super accurate, but we're more likely to believe they are.

Like when you think you remember every single lyric of your favorite song because it moved you so much, only to goof up during karaoke night! 🎤