Repressed Memory Research Paper

Moreover, research also examined the effects of age on participants in regards to the onset of false memory. With materials and testing procedures that have been repeatedly found to produce higher levels of false memory, older children are more susceptible to generating false memories than younger children (Holliday, Brainerd & Reyna, 2010). This is particularly realistic in the DRM lists (Holliday, Brainerd &

The case that has arguably had the biggest negative impact on Loftus is that of "Jane Doe"(real name Nicole Taus). In 1997, David Corwin and his colleague Erna Olafson published a case study of an apparently bona fide case of an accurate, recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse.[ Skeptical, Loftus and her colleague Melvin Guyer decided to investigate further. Using public records and interviewing people connected to Taus, they uncovered information Corwin had not included in his original article—information that they thought strongly suggested Taus' memory of abuse was false.

The authenticity of repressed memories has been the cause of much controversy in the psychology world. Some even refer to these controversies as the “memory wars”. One side supports the idea of repressed memories, saying that there are multiple reasons for memories to be forgotten and retrieved later. The latter disagrees with how legitimate repressed memories are, since there is no way to prove the honesty of the memories presented.

Four hypotheses were given in this experiment. Results from each were consistent with its hypotheses. 1) The recovered memory group attained higher scores on the false recall and false recognition test than the control. These results are consistent with the only other experiment that measures memory distortion. This previous study dealt with memory distortion of victims of childhood sexual abuse (Clancy et al., 2000). People who are more prone to exhibit false recall and false recognition in the laboratory are more likely to do the same in real life. 2) Repressed memory and recovered memory participants exhibited more false recall and false recognition than the control group. 3) The recovered memory did score higher than any group in both false recall and false recognition.

The area of cognitive psychology that this article focuses on, is the impact that cognitive interviews have on false memories and beliefs. A false memory appears when a person recalls memories of events that did not actually happen to him or her. Nonetheless, a study conducted by S.J. Sherman and M.B. Powell, consisted of exposing people to false events using instructions taken from a cognitive interview, a method of interviewing and questioning people about events they may have witnessed (Sharman et al., 2013). In this specific study, researchers examined the integration that cognitive interviews may have on making participants feel more confident towards the validity of their childhood experience, regardless or not whether it actually happened

The need for understanding the phenomenon of repressed memories is also very important from a legal standpoint. In recent years there has been numerous cases of people suing their parents or other authority figures for abuse that has been recalled many years after the abuse was said to have occurred. The rulings in these cases have often been controversial considering there is often not enough concrete or collaborative evidence to prove the accused to be guilty or innocent. The judge and jury are often forced to make a ruling that relies heavily on the testimonial of the accuser. This is very contentious considering there is not an accurate and reliable test to determine the validity of the accuser.

The book states, “your memory is only as good as your last memory. The fewer times you use it, the more unchanged it is” (Myers & Dewall, 2014). This means that to some degree all memory is false. When continuously exposed to misinformation it is called the misinformation effect. The misinformation effect is when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information (Myers & Dewall, 2014). When exposed to misleading information, we tend to misremember. Hearing a vivid retelling of a story or event could implant false memories. Misinformation and source amnesia happen without our awareness. Because of this it is hard for people to scrutinize false memories from the real memories. For example, as adults some often tell stories of their childhoods. They might not actually remember everything that happed so they fill in the blanks. By filling in these blanks the more they tell the story the more the filled in parts become false

Memory attributions are based on various qualitative features of the mental experience. Previous studies have found that despite one experiences an intuitive sense of memory, in which the person believes to be an accurate recording of an encounter; empirical results have shown that this experience can be a reconstructive process, which can lead to the development of false memories (Farrants, 1998; Schacter and Addis, 2007). Past researchers have referred ‘false memories’ as memories that took place within experiments, but experiences that do not correspond to experimentally presented stimuli (Roediger & McDermott, 1995; McDermott, 1996; Payne et al., 1996; Read, 1996; Robinson & Roediger, 1997 cited in Gleaves, Smith, Butler & Spiegel, 2004).

In contrast with repression theory, which asserts a special nature to traumatic memories, false-memory theory argues that trauma encoding and recall is no different from other emotional memories. Given that traumatic events such as CSA are highly memorable, people who claim to be unaware of it for so long must be mistaken. In particular, false-memory theorists are skeptical of memories that emerged through hypnosis, guided imagery, or suggestive interview questioning – all of which are methods used by repression theorists in order to recover the “repressed memories.” Instead of attributing the lack of recall to repression due to trauma, it is possible that these memory problems are due to typical forgetfulness, failure to encode an experience, or deliberate avoidance and reluctance to recall the event, all of which could be easily confused with an inability to remember the trauma. (McNally et al)

Some people might argue that getting lost in the mall is too common of an experience to demonstrate false memories. For this argument, Hyman et al. constructed an experiment to show the occurrence of false memories in less that common childhood events including spilling punch at a wedding and a sprinkler system going off a at grocery store. For one variation of this study, Hyman et al. implanted the memory of an overnight hospitalization with a high fever, and possible ear infection. The participants were told they were going to be asked about events from their childhood based on information provided by their parents. They were then given the titles of the events (including the false visit to the hospital) and asked to

Do you think an experience can be so traumatizing that the brain pushes it into an inaccessible corner of the unconscious to later recall it years later? This concept on the mind is expressed as repressed memories. These are types of memories that are blocked unconsciously due to the high levels of stress experienced during the event. This theory on memories are based on the idea that even though the memory is repressed it is still affecting the individual in their conscious aspects of life. Repressed memories are often associated with childhood sexual abuse. This relies on the idea that these memories of sexual abuse can be brought up either in therapy or by the victim themselves years after the abuse. The concept of repressed memories has been a huge controversy in psychology from the beginning of time. Many people believe that repressed memories in regards to childhood sexual abuse are possible while others believe they can’t be as accurate as some people believe.

Memory used for testimony and convictions can be a very controversial way to incarcerate those who are being accused of a crime. For instance, some may believe that witness statements are reliable evidence able to prove someone’s innocence or guiltiness. Despite this, witness statements may contain lies or hidden, yet essential, parts of the truth that had been purposefully forgotten, which is also known as repression. In addition,witnesses or victims who have experienced trauma will most likely experience amnesia as a result of facing an appalling act. Memories of witnesses or victims should not be used to convict people who are allegedly charged with a crime.

False Memories are fundamentally, unintended human errors, which results in people having memories of events and situations that did not actually occur. It’s worth noting that in humans there are both true and false memories, these false memories occur when a mental experience is incorrectly taken to be a representation of a past event. For example, when people are asked to describe something that happened at a particular time, people rarely deliver accurate answers. Based on research, in eyewitness testimony, the confidence people show while recalling

Memory does not work like a video camera, smoothly recording every detail. Instead, memory is more of a constructive process. We remember the details that we find most important and relevant. Due to the reconstructive nature of memory, the assimilation of old and new information has the ability to cause vulnerable memories to become distorted. This is also known as the misinformation effect (Loftus, 1997). It is not uncommon for individuals to fill in memory gaps with what they assume they must have experienced. We not only distort memories for events that we have observed, but, we may also have false memories for events that never occurred at all. False memories are “often created by combing actual memories with suggestions received from

One of the most studied topics in the field of psychology is False Memory. In general, false memories are recollections of past events and circumstances in which the individual believes that it happened even in reality it didn’t. According to Cherry (2017), it is important to understand False memories because our perception of events which didn’t even happen in the first place could entail an adverse and even life-changing effects in our real lives. While these changes could range from a simple alteration of daily routine, some of them could even lead to fatal and disastrous repercussions especially when unchecked and uncorrected. Following from this, the author of this article believes that it is indeed important to understand the nature and the effects of false memories on our perspective of reality as well as our daily lives. Thus, in succeeding sections, some of these effects would be discussed in more detail. And by the end of this article, the author believes that the reason why False Memories could entail significant changes in our lives, is because memories shape our perception of reality and also the way how we deal with it.