100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, 2nd Edition

26 The Most Vivid Memories are Wrong

If you are at least 30 years old and I asked you to recall where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, chances are very good that you could tell me about that day in great detail. If you live in the U.S., and you were age 10 or older on that date, your memory would likely include details such as how you heard about the attacks, who you were with, and what you did the rest of that day. But research shows that a lot of, perhaps even most of, your memories would be wrong.

Flashbulb Memories are Vivid

Remembering traumatic or dramatic events in great detail is called flashbulb memory. Emotions are processed in the amygdala, which is very ...