Which finding best summarizes how flashbulb memories differ from ordinary autobiographical memories?

Question

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When comparing flashbulb memories to ordinary autobiographical memories, several nuanced points come into play about accuracy, vividness, and confidence.
Option 1: 'They retain substantially more factual detail and show a slower rate of forgetting than everyday memories.' While flashbulb memories are often vivid, research generally shows that they do not necessarily preserve more objective factual detail nor do they reliably forget more slowly; in fact, accuracy can be similar to ordinary memories despite high confidence. This makes this statement misleading about both detail retention and forgetting dynamics.
Option 2: 'They display similar objective accuracy but markedly higher subjective confidence and vividness compared with everyday memories.' This captures the core pattern documented in the literature: people feel their flashbulb memories are extremely vivid and confident, yet objective accuracy is not reliably better than that of ordinary memories. The discrepancy between vividness/confidence and actual accuracy is a hallmark of flashbulb memories, making this option a strong representation of the phenomenon.
Option 3: 'They are stored via a specialized neural circuit (amygdala–hippocampus) that is not engaged by ordinary events.' Although the amygdala and hippocampus interact more during emotional events, the idea of a completely specialized, isolated circuit exclusive to flashbulb memories is not supported as a definitive, exclusive pathway; the neural basis is more complex and involves established networks that overlap with ordinary memory processing. This overstates a unique, separate system.
Option 4: 'They become progressively less accurate than everyday memories because of heightened emotional interference.' This reverses common findings: while emotions can distort memory, flashbulb memories are not universally more prone to erosion of accuracy over time relative to ordinary memories; the core distinction is about confidence and vividness rather than a guaranteed trajectory of accuracy decline.

PSC 154 001 FQ 2025 Weekly Quiz #6

Which finding best summarizes how flashbulb memories differ from ordinary autobiographical memories?

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