2) The factors the shape vivid long-term memories of Expo
All forty-eight interviews were transcribed and translated into English. Memories that
were episodic and/or autobiographic in nature were identified for each participant by the research
team. All the video recordings of each of the participant interviews were reviewed, and the
transcripts were read several times in order to immerse and familiarize with the memory episodes
discussed by the participants. A total of 112 salient memory episodes were selected for
statistical analysis, which equated to roughly two to three memory episodes per participant.
During the data collection and subsequent familiarization phases of the study there
seemed to emerge four factors consistent with outcomes reported in the literature that were
shaping the vividness of participants’ memories, namely, Affect, Agenda Fulfilment,
Intentionality, and Rehearsal. With these factors in mind each of the 112 episodes were
independently rated on these dimensions in addition to the Memory Vividness of each episode.
Table 3 details the descriptors and means of determining each of the five dimensions, in addition
to the number (fraction) of memory episodes that were able to be determined or assessed based
on the interview data for each dimension1.