Flashbulb memories of personal events of 9/11 and the day after for a sample of New York City residents.
The present study assessed consistency of recollections of personal circumstances of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack and events of the day before (9/10), and the day after (9/12), in a sample of 100 New York City college students. The day before 9/11 represented an ordinary event. A questionnaire was administered twice, 1 wk. and 1 yr. after the 9/11 attack. Students were asked to describe their personal circumstances when hearing about the news of the World Trade Center attack and for the same time of day for 9/10 and 9/12. 18 students returned the follow-up questionnaire. Consistency of initial and follow-up responses for the central categories for both 9/11 and 9/12 of where, who, and activity was very high (9/11: "Where"--100%, "Who"--100%, "What"--94%; 9/12: "Where"--100%, "Who"--100%, "What"--80%). Recollections of 9/10 were significantly less consistent ("Where"--79%, "Who"--71%, "What"--71%). Analysis indicated that students formed vivid, consistent recollections during the events of both 9/11 and 9/12. It is likely that the events of 9/12 also became flashbulb memories, vivid recollections of traumatic events, because the emotional impact of the stressful events, i.e., police and military presence, disrupted schedules, relating to the 9/11 attack endured beyond the day of the attack.
Marymount Manhattan College, State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn, USA. Mccull102@aol.com
Cheryl M
CM
Paradis
Linda Zener
LZ
Solomon
Faith
F
Florer
Theresa
T
Thompson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009519:New York City; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population