Psychology SL
Psychology SL
9
Chapters
238
Notes
Unit 1 - Research Methodology
Unit 1 - Research Methodology
Unit 2 - Biological Approach To Behaviour
Unit 2 - Biological Approach To Behaviour
Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour
Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour
Unit 4 - Sociocultural Approach To Behaviour
Unit 4 - Sociocultural Approach To Behaviour
Unit 6 - Health psychology
Unit 6 - Health psychology
Unit 7 - Pyschology Of Human Relationships
Unit 7 - Pyschology Of Human Relationships
Unit 8 - Developmental psychology
Unit 8 - Developmental psychology
Unit 9 - Internal Assessment
Unit 9 - Internal Assessment
Unit 10 - The IB Curriculum - A Conceptual Model
Unit 10 - The IB Curriculum - A Conceptual Model
IB Resources
Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour
Psychology SL
Psychology SL

Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour

Neural Mechanisms Behind 911 Flashbulb Memories Revealed

Word Count Emoji
520 words
Reading Time Emoji
3 mins read
Updated at Emoji
Last edited on 14th Jun 2024

Table of content

Introduction

Flashbulb memories are intensely vivid memories, so-called because they are like photographs "flashed" into our minds, usually linked with emotionally charged events. But what makes these memories so clear and detailed? This is where our friend the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure deep in our brain, comes into play.

Sharot et al. (2007) study

Just imagine a situation where 24 people were asked to remember what they did on a typical summer day in 2001, and also the horrific events of 9/11. The catch? They did all this while lying inside a big donut-like MRI machine, which captures images of brain activity. Some of these participants were in downtown Manhattan, just a stone's throw from the World Trade Center, while others were a few miles away in Midtown during the attacks.

The findings

Now, what happened when they remembered 9/11? The Downtown Manhattan group's amygdalae (that's the plural for amygdala!) lit up like a Christmas tree on the scanner, but not when they recalled their average summer days. In fact, 83% of these folks showed higher activity in their left amygdala when thinking about 9/11 than the summer day. But what about the Midtown group? Their brains were a bit more chill; only 40% of them showed that increased amygdala action. And when they remembered the summer events? Both groups were the same, no crazy light shows in the amygdala.

 

Interestingly, the closer the participant was to Ground Zero during the attacks, the more their amygdala fired up when remembering 9/11 (correlation of 0.45, which is quite significant).

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IB Resources
Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour
Psychology SL
Psychology SL

Unit 3 - Cognitive Approach To Behaviour

Neural Mechanisms Behind 911 Flashbulb Memories Revealed

Word Count Emoji
520 words
Reading Time Emoji
3 mins read
Updated at Emoji
Last edited on 14th Jun 2024

Table of content

Introduction

Flashbulb memories are intensely vivid memories, so-called because they are like photographs "flashed" into our minds, usually linked with emotionally charged events. But what makes these memories so clear and detailed? This is where our friend the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure deep in our brain, comes into play.

Sharot et al. (2007) study

Just imagine a situation where 24 people were asked to remember what they did on a typical summer day in 2001, and also the horrific events of 9/11. The catch? They did all this while lying inside a big donut-like MRI machine, which captures images of brain activity. Some of these participants were in downtown Manhattan, just a stone's throw from the World Trade Center, while others were a few miles away in Midtown during the attacks.

The findings

Now, what happened when they remembered 9/11? The Downtown Manhattan group's amygdalae (that's the plural for amygdala!) lit up like a Christmas tree on the scanner, but not when they recalled their average summer days. In fact, 83% of these folks showed higher activity in their left amygdala when thinking about 9/11 than the summer day. But what about the Midtown group? Their brains were a bit more chill; only 40% of them showed that increased amygdala action. And when they remembered the summer events? Both groups were the same, no crazy light shows in the amygdala.

 

Interestingly, the closer the participant was to Ground Zero during the attacks, the more their amygdala fired up when remembering 9/11 (correlation of 0.45, which is quite significant).

Unlock the Full Content! File Is Locked Emoji

Dive deeper and gain exclusive access to premium files of Psychology SL. Subscribe now and get closer to that 45 🌟