The Death of Princess Diana: The Effects of Memory Enhancement Procedures on Flashbulb Memories

Abstract

This study examined the effects of memory enhancement procedures (i.e., hypnosis, n = 19; context reinstatement/reverse order recall(CR/RO), n = 19; task motivation instructions (TMIs), n = 20) on the fate of flashbulb memories of Princess Diana's death. Three days after Diana's death, participants provided a narrative account and responded to specific questions describing the circumstances under which they learned the news. Eleven to 12 weeks later, participants, selected (from a larger sample, N = 348) on the basis of their initial report of an emotional reaction to Diana's death and report completeness, received one of the three memory enhancement procedures and then completed the original survey. Hypnotized participants' recall was compromised relative to task motivated participant's on measures of consistency in which task motivated participants provided the most consistent recall. CR/RO and TMI participants provided more complete narratives than did hypnosis participants. Prototypical flashbulb memory features were stable (82%) across narratives. However, when the entire narrative was analyzed, statement by statement, consistency declined to 32%.