On September 12, 2001, psychologists Jennifer Talarico and David Rubin (2003) had Duke University students complete questionnaires about how they learned about the terrorist attacks against the United States the previous day. For comparison, students also described some ordinary event that had occurred in their lives at about the same time, such as going to a sporting event. Students were then randomly assigned to a follow-up session either 1 week, 6 weeks, or 32 weeks later. The results indicated that:

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The results indicated that both the flashbulb memories and the everyday memories decayed over time. While both types of memories improved initially, they declined in accuracy and detail over the course of the 32-week period. This finding suggests that even highly emotional and significant events, such as the 9/11 attacks, are subject to forgetting and distortion over time.

On September 12, 2001, Psychologists Jennifer Talarico and David Rubin