Measurement issues in the study of Flashbulb memory

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of different measurement models traditionally adopted in assessing Flashbulb memory (FBM). It compares the dimensional and categorical measurement models of FBM. The dimensional models assume that a continuous, normally distributed latent construct accounts for variations among observed indicators. When the aim of the researcher is to reduce a set of categorical observed indicators into a smaller set of latent factors, Latent Trait Analysis (LTA) is one of the most accepted dimensional approaches. In the area of educational testing and psychological assessment, LTA is termed Item Response Theory (IRT). FBMs have been defined as memories for reception context of relevant public events. While FBMs have been conceptualised as a form of episodic memory, event-memory (EM) have been considered as a form of semantic memory. Unlike ordinary autobiographical memories, which convey a distributed form of knowledge representation involving three layers of autobiographical knowledge base, FBMs appear to arise from more densely integrated regions of a knowledge base.