Question at position 14 On the way home from her senior prom, Mary's date ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, causing severe injuries to all involved. Twenty years later, Mary still remembers the song that was playing on the radio at the time of the crash. In the context of memory retrieval, such a memory is best described as a(n) ________ memory.iconicflashbulbprospectiveprocedural

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

First, let's restate the problem to focus our analysis: In a memory retrieval context, Mary vividly recalls the song playing during a traumatic crash years later. The question asks which type of memory this is. The answer options are: iconic, flashbulb, prospective, procedural.
Option 1: iconic. This term is typically used to describe iconic memory, which is a brief visual sensory memory that lasts only a fraction of a second. Since the scenario involves a vivid, lasting recall of a specific event rather than a momentary visual snapshot, iconic memory is not a good fit here.
Option 2: flashbulb. Flashbulb memories are highly detailed, emotionally charged memories of significant, surprising events, often remembered with striking clarity for many years. The description of Mary remembering the exact song from the prom-night crash fits this pattern of intense, enduring retrieval for an emotionally salient event, making this option plausible and consistent with memory research.
Option 3: prospective. Prospective memory refers to remembering to perform an action in the future (e.g., taking a medication at a certain time). The described memory is about a past event and its retrieval, not about remembering to do something later, so prospective memory is not appropriate here.
Option 4: procedural. Procedural memory involves knowing how to perform tasks—motor skills and procedures (e.g., riding a bike, tying shoes). The scenario centers on recalling an event, not on performing a skill, so procedural memory does not apply.
To summarize the reasoning: iconic memory would be a fleeting visual snapshot, which does not capture the enduring, emotional recollection described; prospective memory concerns future action, which is not the case; procedural memory concerns skills, not event recall. The most accurate classification for a vivid recall of a traumatic, emotionally charged event from the past is a flashbulb memory, which aligns with Mary’s detailed and lasting memory of the song at the time of the crash.

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