Repressed Memory Essay

1486 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Brain development in child abuse

Repressed memory is the involuntary block on a memory considered to be extremely stressful and appalling in nature. It is theorized that repressed memory is a form of amnesia that is not associated with typical forgetfulness in a person. When a person experiences something extremely severe in nature, such as childhood sexual abuse for example, their mind sometimes refuses to remember that event because it is so painful to recall. In some cases events of extreme trauma, often during adulthood such as post-traumatic stress, can actually cause a reverse effect and an increase in memorability. Some even believe that it is possible to repress memories voluntarily. It has been a topic that has eluded many psychologists today and has been thoroughly researched for the past century. This paper will explore different theories and ideas on whether or not repression is true or just another pseudo-science.
Ever since it was thought of by psychologist Sigmund Freud the topic has been a debatable one for some time now with critics on both sides arguing over its validity. Many psychologists have claimed that the research is preposterous and impossible to prove. One researcher in particular, Dr. Richard J. McNally, is quoted in an article saying, “The notion that traumatic events can be repressed and later recovered is the most pernicious bit of folklore ever to infect psychology and psychiatry” (Media Report). In the past 30 years individuals have begun coming forth claiming that they were victims of childhood sexual abuse, CSA, years prior to sharing with media. The victims claimed that they had not recalled the abuse until recently and had been repressing the memory of it. Ever since then researchers have been looking for answers in...

... middle of paper ...

...hat there is no clear way to prove it or disprove it yet with research we have today. More research in the field is required to learn whether or not the concept is true. It seems that this century old debate will continue on for who knows how many years.
It is hard for me to say whether or not I strongly believe in one side or the other. While both sides make compelling arguments their contradictions towards one another keep me on the fence. The theory doesn’t seem to have much support on a neurological level however with the amount of individuals coming forth claiming they suffer from it the odds of it being coincidental seem slim. That being said little to no solid experimental evidence has been done that can prove its existence. Honestly I hope that repression is not something that really does exist because if it is true then that means anyone could be a victim.

Show More
Related

  • Recovered Memory Theory

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Amici curiae is a social psychologist and legal scholar who studies the effects of the Recovered Memory Syndrome on individuals’ behaviors and judicial practices. Amici has conducted research and published several peer-reviewed articles explaining the role of hypnosis in uncovering repressed memories and related traumas that come along with it. This brief intends to provide the Court with relevant and current literature explaining the recovered memory phenomenon and its relationship with psychotherapeutic techniques where recovery of memories often occurs. Research presented by amici demonstrates that cases of sexual abuse, real or imagined, must be given careful consideration as victims undergo significant emotional

    Read More

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

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    McNally, R. J., Clancy, S. A., Schacter, D. L., & Pitman, R. K. (2000). Cognitive processing of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 109(3), 355-359. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.109.3.355

    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

  • Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Adulthood

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. Many people have been victims of child abuse. There are three forms of child abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detremental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the potential to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the effects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood.

    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

  • 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

  • Modern-day Witch Hunts

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many counselors attribute their clients' woes to long-buried "repressed" memories of childhood sexual abuse. They help clients to unlock these, and rewrite their pasts. Clients sever all former ties with "families of origin" and surround themselves only with other "survivors", to prevent confirmation or denial.

    Read More

  • Infantile Amnesia Essay

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Early childhood experiences are crucial in shaping personality and psychological functioning into one’s adulthood years in life. Infants’ brains work and develop rapidly, and many memories are being made during the development process. However, many of the memories infants and children make during the first 4 years tend to be forgotten as they grow older. Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist to describe the phenomenon in which people fail to retrieve episodic memories such as specific events from early childhood as infantile amnesia. Freud (1953) explained infantile amnesia by suggesting that one needs to repress memories from infancy due to their inappropriate and traumatic-sexual content. However, contemporary researchers argued with Freud’s trauma theory in explaining infantile amnesia and proposed a number of hypotheses to further clarify the underlying causes of the infantile amnesia phenomenon.

    Read More

  • Repressed Memories

    3889 Words  | 8 Pages

    Recently there has been an extreme debate between "false" vs. "repressed" memories of abuse. A false memory is created when an event that really happened becomes confused with images produced by trying to remember an imagined event. The term false memory syndrome refers to the notion that illusionary and untrue memories of earlier child abuse can be 'recalled' by adult clients during therapy. In an increasingly polarized and emotive debate, extreme positions have been adopted, on one side by those believing that recovered memories nearly always represent actual traumatic experiences, for example, Fredrickson (1992) who argues for a 'repressed memory syndrome' and, on the other side, by those describing a growing epidemic of false memories of abuse which did not occur. (Gardner, 1992; Loftus, 1993; Ofshe & Watters, 1993; Yapko, 1994).

    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

    Recovered memories of childhood trauma and abuse has become one of the most controversial issues within the field of psychology. Controversy surrounding repressed memory - sometimes referred to as the memory wars – reached its’ peak in the early 1990s, where there was a rise in the number of people reporting memories of childhood trauma and abuse that had allegedly been repressed for many years (Lindsay & Read, 2001). There are a number of different factors that have contributed to the dispute surrounding recovered memories. Firstly, there is an ongoing debate about whether these types of memories actually exist or whether these accusations arose as a result of suggestive therapeutic procedures. In particular, this debate focuses on two main

    Read More

  • Collective Memory Essay

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Collective memory is the cultural memory (? ) or the remembered history of a community: “Anyone who during today fixes his eyes on tomorrow must preserve yesterday from oblivion by grasping it through memory” (Assmann 2011: 17). Collective memory is the way groups form memories out of a shared past to create a common identity. The memory of a group is a construction, or reconstruction, of the past. Through the approach of collective memory we can distinguish a cultural sphere that combines tradition, awareness of history, myth in action, and self-definition. This cultural sphere is constantly subject to a vast range of historically conditioned changes (Assmann 2011: 10). Collective memory is the structures that underlie all myths and histories without any distinction between them. The past that is fixed and internalized is myth, whether it is fact or fiction (Assmann 2011: 59). Collective memory can be expressed through a variety of different medias, e.g. festivals, rituals, liturgy, symbols, flags, memorial places, museums, cultural artifacts, as well as oral and written narratives, like myths, prophecies, law material, biographies and perceived historical accounts (Van Seters 2012: 54). The memories are specifically designed to recall events in the history of the collective.

    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

  • Psychology: The Seven Sins Of Memory

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are seven sins of memory in psychology. Transience, absent-mindedness, and blocking are the sins of forgetting. Misattribution, bias, persistence, and suggestibility are the sins of undesired or changed remembrance (Murray, 2003). According to Murray (2003), transience is “the decrease of accessibility of memory over time” (p. 28).

    Read More

  • Repressed Memories Essay

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Repressed Memory PSYC:1504 Introduction to Psychology UoPeople Memory is a complex issue and more elusive than many people realize. Most people believe that if they can remember an event clearly that it must be true. The truth is that memory is extremely fragile, and it can be easy for a person’s mind to invent memories or to have false memories implanted. This can lead to people being able to convincingly recall events that never happened.

    Read More

More about Repressed Memory Essay

Open Document