http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-makes-us-human/201109/commemoration
There are certain monumental events in my life that I will always remember because of my specific and individual relationship to them (ex. my first day of school, my first kiss). There are events that i can remember with my family or a small group of people (ex. my grandparents death, family vacations, that epic 3-day sleepover). But then there are memories that I share with the country or the world. Every year since 9/11 I always end up having a conversation with a group of people about where we were when we found out about the attacks. It is a memory that we all have. The article from a blogger for Psychology today reflects on her own memories of 9/11 and how they were affected by the common account seen on tv and through the news that has become the memory of the masses.
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Sorry to leave this here, but I haven't yet figured out how to post a new thread on here. Anyway, I looked into the effect of video games on Cognitive development...with not-so-shocking results:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131637.htm
Because of my recent re-involvement with video games, I decided to look into how beneficial they might actually be. Well, turns out they aren't. It was assumed that by having players need to strategic planning and constant vigilance for sneak-attacks, video games would boost cognitive development, especially in games such as Medal of Honor. This idea however is "fundamentally flawed" according to Florida State University professor of Psychology Walter Boot. Past studies, he said, didn't take into account that people with better cognitive skills may just be drawn to gaming (instead of gaming making for better cognitive skills). "If people are playing games to improve their cognition, they may be wasting their time," Boot said. "Play games because you enjoy them, not because they could boost your brain power."
After reading the articles on flashbulb memories this week and given that some of the predictors of successful recollection, I wonder if the memories that Katelyn has mentioned are accurate.
If there was some personal involvement in the tragedy there seems to be more likelihood that their memories are accurate, but if not perhaps they are not.
As with all research into memories, there are some other issues to consider. If they meet every year, they are probably also going through process of rehearsal to recall the events accurately.
Given that this event affected most Americans in a personal manner there is a good chance that most people do remember this event more accurately.
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