Beyond the Boundary of Childhood Amnesia: Remembering Flashbulb Events From Early Ages

Abstract

Studies of childhood amnesia have shown that most adults cannot remember events from before the age of about 3.5. A recent line of work, however, has shown that some individuals remember earlier events but misdate them to later ages (known as telescoping). This study takes a complementary approach by searching for memories that cannot be telescoped—in this case, memories of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Three hundred and two young adults were asked about their memory of 9/11 (mean age on 9/11 = 4.4; SD = 2.1; range 1.8–13.5). Over 50% of participants who were between 4 and 5 at the time had a flashbulb memory, and a substantial minority of participants had strong memories even though they were between 2 and 3 at the time. The results provide further evidence that people frequently remember events from very early childhood—at least when they are powerful events that typically elicit a flashbulb.