Editing Flashbulb memory (section)

== Historical overview ==

The term flashbulb memory was coined by Roger Brown and James Kulik in 1977.<ref name= "Brown" /> They formed the special-mechanism hypothesis, which argues for the existence of a special biological memory mechanism that, when triggered by an event exceeding critical levels of surprise and consequentiality, creates a permanent record of the details and circumstances surrounding the experience.<ref name = "Brown"/> Brown and Kulik believed that although flashbulb memories are permanent, they are not always accessible from [[long-term memory]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cohen|first=N|author2=McCloskey, M. |author3=Wible, C. |title=Flashbulb memories and underlying cognitive mechanisms: Reply to Pillemer|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology|year=1990|volume=119|pages=97–100|doi=10.1037/0096-3445.119.1.97}}</ref>  The hypothesis of a special flashbulb-memory mechanism holds that flashbulb memories have special characteristics that are different from those produced by "ordinary" memory mechanisms. The representations created by the special mechanism are detailed, accurate, vivid, and resistant to forgetting.<ref name = "Brown"/>  Most of these initial properties of flashbulb memory have been debated since Brown and Kulik first coined the term. Ultimately, over the years, four models of flashbulb memories have emerged to explain the phenomenon: the photographic model, the comprehensive model, the emotional-integrative model, and the importance-driven model, additional studies have been conducted to test the validity of these models.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Er|first=N.|title=A new flashbulb memory model applied to the Marmara earthquake|journal=Applied Cognitive Psychology|year=2003|volume=17|issue=5|pages=503–517|doi=10.1002/acp.870}}</ref>