Flashbulb Memory: Shifting the Threshold of Childhood Amnesia

Indianapolis, IN

Multhaup et al. (2005) placed the age of childhood amnesia between the ages of 5 and 6. However some memories pierce this barrier. Lindsey et al.’s (2005) used recall of 28 predetermined experience events. Using a procedure similar to that of Multhaup et al. (2005) and Lindsey et al. (2004), May et al. (2018, March) was our first attempt at finding the developmental age at which the strength of flashbulb memory overpowered the effect of childhood amnesia. However, the results of the study indicated that this methodology was far too specific to elicit our intended target memories, likely due to a general difference in emotional valence levels across the predetermined experience events. Therefore, a follow-up study allowing participants to rate their unique earliest memories, was performed in hopes that it would provide data better equipped for pinpointing this developmental threshold. 110 participants were asked to recall and describe their personal earliest memory. Results indicated the threshold for childhood amnesia with respect to autobiographical memory was 3.58 years, as well as significant interactions between age, affect, and the canonical features of the free recall narratives provided. Psychology