Repressed Memories Essay

544 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Repressed memories essay

THE MEMORY WARS OF THE 90´S “The notion of repressed memories has sparked a great deal of controversy in the mental health field. This became especially heated during what became known as the “memory wars” of the 1990s” (Good Therapy, 2013). Repression must be one of the most obsessive and complicated concepts in psychology. When something shocking takes place and the mind pushes it into some inaccessible corner of the unconscious as a defense system. Maybe 10 or 20 years later, the memory may reappear. There has been a very important number of cases of childhood sexual abuse and murder that were supposedly repressed memories and were repressed for decades. Changes in legislation are allowing people with recently surfaced memories to sue alleged perpetrators for events that happened many years ago. All this these new developments give rise to several questions on the …show more content…

There are different opinions on the authenticity of repressed memories. Many innocent individuals were arrested and jailed. This fact produced a debate on how juries react to repressed memories. Trials are not always in search of a conviction for the felon, but many times are a validation for the victim or a source for devictimization. Although repression is one of the foundation stones on which the structure of psychoanalysis rests, repressed memories can be a product of suggestions. Hence, they are not always a valid testimony. This fact might also mean that a crime faces no conviction.
Repressed memories have been helpful to condemn crimes that were committed decades ago, but also have brought deep discrepancy to the table, as they have presented cases where parents are accused of unimaginable situations by their children, 20 or 30 year after. And many of these allegedly criminal parents were innocent. These can happen not because the person lies about the memory but because they honestly believe it happened.

WHEN DO REPRESSED MEMORIES SURFACE AND MY

Show More
Related

  • False Memory Case Summary

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Memories can be altered based on acquisition, storage, and retrieval. Acquisition is what we notice or perceive based on what we are paying attention to. Storage is what information gets stored into one’s memory. Retrieval correlates with the false memory syndrome, which is recalling a previous traumatic experience that is false but believed to be true. The false memory syndrome is often noticed during police interrogations and leads to coerced confessions, which is when the individual being interrogated is essentially pressured to confess.

    Read More

  • Capturing the Friedmans

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...at because of the size of the children there would have been physical symptoms, no documented evidence of this sort was presented during the case. Out of 100 students no physical symptoms were ever recorded, and not one student said anything about abuse until four years later when the investigator was pursued (Silvergate, 2004) No parents ever filed complaints prior to police investigation. Because memories are malleable and children are even more vulnerable to authority, it is very probable that some children just complied to the leading questions due to fear, but is it possible that they all could? The influence of the investigators parallels to the influence of therapists in cases of sexually abused children's recovered memories.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Elizabeth Loftus

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    Retrieved November 14, 2013, from http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/the-alleged-ethical-violations-of-elizabeth- loftus-in-the-case-of-jane-doe/ Carroll, R. (n.d.). repressed memory. - The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved November 14, 2013, from http://www.skepdic.com/repressedmemory.h Costandi, M. (n.d.). Falsifying memories.the Guardian.

    Read More

  • People Vs. Thomas Case Study

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thomas case and cases involving false confessions. Studies show that individuals can develop detailed false memories resulting from priming and suggestions during the interview process. Intoxication, mental illness or impairment, repetition of facts or information, priming and suggestion, sleep deprivation, and dehydration can increase an individual’s suggestibility and likelihood to recall a false memory. Interrogators can gaslight suspects, causing the suspect to doubt their memory, coercing them into a false confession.

    Read More

  • Recovered Memory Theory

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Those who are in favor of retrieved memories state that these memories can be repressed and remain unattainable for years until an individual seeks therapy, where these memories can often be uncovered and trauma related to them can be treated (Freyd, 1994). On the other hand, some individuals have expressed concerns with the concept of repressed memories since, according to them, there is little scientific evidence that can support the theory (Patihis, Ho, Tingen, Lilienfeld & Loftus, 2014). In other words, cases where individuals experience traumatic events but often lack memories of these, often do not provide sufficient reliable evidence to make credible arguments. Memory research offers further insight into the controversial topic of “memory wars” by explaining if the notion of repressing memories and placing them into the unconscious is a feasible hypothesis. Furthermore, research presented in this brief will discuss the reliability and usefulness of using recovered memories as evidence in a court cases. Due to the controversial nature of recovered memories in judicial courts and scientific communities, it is important to consider research in the area to determine truthfulness in allegations involving recovered memories, as these have previously posed

    Read More

  • Recovered Memories versus False Memories: Is It Possible to Determine What Is Real?

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...

    Read More

  • Repressed Memory: The Missinginformation Effect

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine having a memory of a very traumatic event resurface in your mind after forgetting about it for twenty years. That is what happened to Eileen Franklin in 1989 when she had recovered what is called a repressed memory of her father, George Franklin, killing her friend in 1969, which eventually lead to her father getting a sentence of life in prison (Beaver, 1996). A repressed memory is a memory that is not forgotten, but is a memory of something traumatic that is blocked and not recovered unless triggered by something. Although her descriptions of the event were very vivid, describing colors and sounds, most of what she described could be proven inaccurate. Some of what she described was information that was misreported in newspapers that she had probably read or been told about in the past. This is an example of the misinformation effect. Misinformation effect is when someone is misled by information about an event that they witnessed and has an effect on how they remember that event later. This is just one example of how the misinformation effect can change how an event is described.

    Read More

  • PSY 301, Introductory Psychology, 1999, Exam 3

    2753 Words  | 6 Pages

    6. With respect to the controversy regarding reports of repressed memories of sexual abuse, statements by major psychological and psychiatric associations suggest that:

    Read More

  • Memory And Flashbulb Memory

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Flashbulb memory is when a person learns or experiences a very surprising and emotional arousing events (Matlin, 155). As it is a long lasting memory that people report vivid details about a traumatic event, it has been the subjects of recent scientific studies. Recent findings have mentioned a relationship between flashbulb memory and the September 11, 2001 attack. An article published in the American Psychological Association entitled “Seared in Our Memories” written by Bridget Murray Law analyzes different studies on the topic to explore how accurate people vividly remember about the 9/11 attack, and on how much is accurate or fabricated through various encounters. After reading the article, Law mentions interesting researchers concluding

    Read More

  • Involuntary Memories Essay

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the summary it is noted that “memory access was bias towards (a) mood-congruent, (b) recent and (c) distinctive (unusual) events” (Berntsen, 1996). Earlier I had looked into detail on the moods and distinctiveness of my memories. After looking closer, I noted that ten of the twelve memories had taken place in the last five years, with the other two happening six and ten years ago. The same literature discusses how involuntary memories can be used as a defense mechanism, and that “may help cover up disturbing, perceptual aspects of the current surroundings” (Berntsen, 1996). This would make a lot of sense when examining my negative memory, because it seems to be used as a warning for me to think of something else or look at something else. In a different piece of literature, repeated memories of traumatic events are discussed. I would consider my negative memory to be a traumatic event, since it made me physically sick. It also comes to mind involuntary often, when I see or think of something that could relate or look like it. This could be that it is way of “working through and coming to terms with the trauma” for me (Berntsen, 2008). Yet another piece of literature lines up with my experience, and it comes from a 1998 publication by Dorthe Berntsen. It is written that, “the results suggest that

    Read More

  • Eyewitnesses with intellectual disabilities

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ever since DNA has been used in court cases, hundreds of people have been released from prison because DNA exonerated them from the eyewitness testimony that was given at trial that locked them up in the first place. Once news about this started getting out, how human memory was not as perfect as previously thought, many different studies have shown how easy it is to manipulate memory and create false memories to almost everyone. So when I received this assignment and had to research a topic involving false memories and present it, I chose an issue that I am very connected with, individuals with intellectual disabilities [ID]. Growing up I was a member of Friendship Circle it is a nonprofit organization that caters to children, teens, and young adults who have autism or are ‘special needs’ and immerse them in a range of Jewish and other social experiences. Being a volunteer and being exposed to children and young adults with ID and autism spectrum disorder I noticed some of the kids would get bruises in odd places and act funny some weeks. Bringing this to the attention to one of the leaders in charge I would later find out that someone was abusing that child. According to Baladerian (1991), 39-83% of girls and 16-32% of boys with an ID are sexually abused before they are 18. In another more recent article from the UK said “definite abuse was found [in people with learning disabilities] in 4-5% of individuals, but consultants felt many others had hidden signs of abuse” it also went on to state that there are about 940 new cases of abuse with the victim having an intellectual disability (Cooke and Sinason, 1998). Another study I looked at said that there is a one in fifty [1:50] chance that if someone is a victim on a crime ...

    Read More

  • Repressed Memories

    3889 Words  | 8 Pages

    Kowalski, M.(1998, December). Applying the "two schools of thought" doctrine to the repressed memory controversy. The Journal of Legal Medicine. Retrieved September 14, 2000 from Lexis-Nexis database (Academic Universe) on the World Wide Web: http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe

    Read More

  • Essay On Repressed Memories

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Repressed vs. false memories has been a critical debate in criminal cases and daily life problems. Throughout the years many people has claimed to recover repressed memories with the simplest triggers varying from a gaze to hypnosis. However, a large number of repressed memories claimed are considered as false memories because the images were induced through hypnosis and recalled during a therapy sesion. In the film “divided memories” the main intention was to inform the audience the importance of repressed memories and how those memories can change the lives of the people involved, whether the memory was considered repressed or false. It shows different cases of women being victims of sexual abuse in childhood and how they had those memories repressed. Additionally, the film

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Recovered Memories

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    An alternative view to this debate, are from practicing therapist who argue that most recovered memories are true, and that there is still some evidence to support the concept of repressed memories (Briere & Conte, 1993). They claim that traumatic memories such as sexual abuse tend to be different from ordinary memories because they are encoded in a way that prevents them from being accessible in everyday life. In addition, they argue that certain procedures during therapy are necessary in order to bring the repressed memories back into conscious awareness, and this is deemed necessary in order to help the patient recover. Despite these claims, there is little evidence to support the validity of reported cases of recovered memories, and most of the theories are mainly based on speculation rather than scientific evidence. However, there have been some cases in which a recovered memory did corresponded to an actual event that occurred. For example, an article by Freyd (1999), reported a case in which a man called Frank Fitzpatrick recovered memories of sexual abuse from childhood. Although this

    Read More

  • False Memories Essay

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    The mistaken recollection of information or the recollection of an event that never happened is known as a false memory (Rajagopal & Montgomery, 2011). The study of false memories has been of interest to cognitive psychologists (Otagaar, Smeets & Scoboria, 2013) for many years as it implies that human memory is vulnerable to the influence of external information, it also implies that our ability to recall events may not always be accurate. One major issue that has arisen with the research on false memories is the argued validity of eyewitness testimony (Wade, Green & Nash, 2011). Eyewitness testimony is the verified report made by someone who witnessed a crime (Wade et.al., 2011). False memories can interfere with the correct recollection of criminal offences which can potentially result in inaccurate accusations of a crime (Wade et.al., 2011). Researchers have been interested in studying false memories to develop a better understanding of how false memories work, and to what extent our memories can be assumed accurate (Jou & Flores, 2013).

    Read More

More about Repressed Memories Essay

Open Document