Problem: The issue of memory retrieval is important in psychology especially related to the current discussion of "repressed memories." Adding to this is the inaccuracy of memory in and of itself even with memories that are of a shocking emotional nature (often referred to as "flashbulb memories.") In an interesting study of 54 college students after the 9/11 tragedy, researchers put together 3 groups who were retested at either 1 week, 6 weeks or 32 weeks after 9/11 to see how accurate their recall was over time (Talarico & Rubin, 2003). Interestingly, original details became less and less consistent over time even with an event of this magnitude. So adding to the problem of "repressed memories" is the fact that other non-repressed memories often contain facts that make them somewhat fictional. What does the class think about this?
References
Talarico, M & Rubin, D. (2003). Confidence, not consistency, characterizes flashbulb memories. Psychological Science, 14, 455-461.