A psychologist named Ulric Nessier believes that flashbulb memories are formed because they represent an intersection of historical and personal trajectories, and this makes them events that people want to retell and rehearse again and again. It is through these rehearsals and retellings that inaccuracies manage to creep in, and as they are reinforced through repeated retellings they become just as much a part of the memories as the actual events. That is, retelling the flashbulb memory to others is the same as rehearsing the memory, or reliving it to a certain degree, and when there are inaccurate elements in this reliving they eventually become as firmly entrenched in the memory of the true-life event as the factual memories. This explains why so many people remember seeing both planes hit on 9/11 when this was actually impossible.
Intelligence Test
For this assignment, I completed the test found at http://www.intelligencetest.com/, after searching the term "intelligence test" at askjeeves.com. While many of the questions did seem to be fairly accurate ways of gauging intelligence in certain areas, such as pattern recognition or mathematical abilities, many of the questions seemed to depend on knowledge that would have to be acquired prior to taking the test. While this information was fairly basic for the most part, it was easy to see that someone who simply hadn't...
While I feel that I possessed the knowledge that was required in these certain items on the test, this reflects the cultural bias that exists in many intelligence tests, and arguably in all intelligence tests. It also calls into question the definition of intelligence as it is defined in various intelligence tests, including this one.
As far as how it felt to take this test, I actually found it kind of exciting -- especially when I was pretty sure (or positive) that I had the right answer. Many of the items appeared incredibly easy, while others were less so, and the fact that I didn't get a perfect score means that the test obviously had some items that were more difficult than I thought. I was very eager to see my results, and throughout the test I found it difficult to concentrate only on the questions/items as they were presented because I kept wondering what each specific item was supposed to measure and what my answer would say about my intelligence. Ultimately, I don't think any internet-administered test that takes a maximum of fifteen minutes to complete can accurately assess anyone's intelligence, so I do not have a great deal of faith in my score, but the experience was definitely fun and made taking the test worthwhile.
