Kathy Pezdek
(Claremont Graduate University, U.S.A.)

Most Americans will never forget the horrific events of September 11, 2001, however, few will remember the events as clearly as they think they will. Cognitive psychologists have extensively studied memory for traumatic events and eyewitness memory more specifically. The events of 9/11 offered an unprecedented opportunity to study memory for a traumatic event that had a significant and immediate effect on all Americans. Seven weeks after 9/11, we had five samples complete a questionnaire on (a) memory for the events of 9/11 and (b) their autobiographical memory for 9/11. These five samples were (a) 277 college students from Manhattan, New York, (b) 167 college students from California, (c) 127 college students from Hawaii, (d) 53 fire fighters from California, and (e) 68 United and American Airlines flight attendants and pilots. In the first wave of this longitudinal study, the primary comparisons are across the three college samples who, because of differences in time zones, first heard of the terrorists’ attack on average, one hour, 2.50 hours, or 4.10 hours after the first World Trade Center tower had been struck. It was predicted that people would remember the events quite differently as a function of how the events were perceived. Because it took some time to realize that the events of 9/11 constituted a coordinated terrorists’ attack, comparisons across time zones avail a test of this prediction. By seven weeks after 9/11, already memory for the events had been telescoped in time. In answer to the question, -How much time passed between when the first tower was struck to when it collapsed?- the mean estimate was 62 minutes, with no differences among the five samples; the correct answer was 108 minutes. In general, the Manhattan students and the flight attendants and pilots reported the highest levels of distress and their accounts were most accurate.