What do events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and Hurricane Andrew that shook Miami have in common? All these events can be remembered by the people who experienced them thanks to flash memory. Flashbulb memories were defined by R. Brown and J. Kulik (1977) as vivid, detailed and long-lasting memories for attributes of the context of receiving public news (Curci, A., & Lanciano, T., 2009). People who experience such major events are certain that their flashbulb memories are very accurate and can detail what happened to them in those events (Schwartz, 2013). Furthermore, the events that generate flashbulb memories are usually very surprising and emotionally stimulating and are perceived by the subject as personally consequential (Emotion & Memory 1993). But not all memories have to be negative and tragic. Events such as the first day of first grade, your first romantic kiss, your first day at work, or the recitation of your wedding vows can also be described as flashbulb memories (Schwartz, 2013). Special Mechanism The special mechanism approach to flashlight memories was also introduced by R. Brown and Kulik, establishes that flashlight memories are virtually literal representations of the what, how, and where of the original event (Schwartz, 2013). This mechanism works by codifying what happened in great detail. As a result, the flash memory will be very strong and will remain in the memory (Schwartz, 2013). Strong emotions are the core of special mechanisms. To explain further, distinctiveness may be correlated with the triggering critical condition, experiences that produce strong emotional reactions may tend to be more distinctive than experiences that do not (Winograd & Nei......middle of paper... ... d accuracy in recall: Studies (1993). 213565592?accountid=10901Wright, D.B., Gaskell, G.D. and O'Muircheartaigh, C.,A. (1998) Assumptions about flash memory: using national surveys to explore cognitive phenomena, 89, 103-21 ://ezproxy.fiu .edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/199628529?accountid=10901Luminet, O., Curci, A., Marsh, E.J., Wessel, I., & al, e. The cognitive, emotional, and social impacts of the September 11 attacks: Group differences in memory for host context and the determinants of flashbulb memory, The Journal of General Psychology, 131(3), 197-224. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fiu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/213650518?accountid=10901