In other studies , Neisser & Harsch ( 1992 ) and Neisser et al. ( 1996 ) provide evidence for the inaccuracy of flashbulb memories and thereby weaken the '' Now Print ! '' hypothesis . The former assesses the accuracy of participants memories of the Challenger explosion soon after it happened and then two and a half years later to determine the precision of their memories . The latter compares three different groups of people based on the 1989 California earthquake . One group was located in a different state and only ‘ heard ’ about the quake , the second group experienced relatively minor effects in Berkeley located near the epicenter , and the third group resided in Santa Cruz , where major damage occurred . The participants answered a questionnaire soon after the earthquake experience and then another time one and a half years later . Although the participants who experienced the more severe conditions of the earthquake had a higher “ mean remembered rating ” than the other group located nearby , the results from this study show that memory was not necessarily better if high emotionality was involved in the context . The group of participants located in an entirely different state than the quake did even worse regarding the amount of recalled items
1989 California earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Now Print!