Reflections on Recovered Memories: Comment on Patihis and Pendergrast (2019)

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Jay Lynn ◽  
Harald Merckelbach ◽  
Craig P. Polizzi
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Close Link ◽  
Repressed Memories

In this comment on Patihis and Pendergrast (this issue, p. 3), we challenge an assumption that underpins recovered memory therapies: that there exists a close link of traumatic experiences with dissociation. We further suggest that (a) researchers examine how therapists who believe in repressed memories instill this belief in clients and establish expectations that current problems can be interpreted in light of past traumatic experiences, (b) recovered memories could be classified and studied as a function of how events come to light and are interpreted, and (c) therapists routinely provide informed consent regarding recovered memories and suggestive techniques.

scholarly journals Reports of Recovered Memories in Therapy, Informed Consent, and Generalizability: Response to Commentaries

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Patihis ◽  
Mark H. Pendergrast
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
General Public ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
Recovered Memories

We respond to various comments on our article (this issue, p. 3), which reported prevalence percentages of reports of recovered memories in therapy. We consider arguments against informed consent in therapy and conclude that we are in favor of informed consent that includes information about research on the malleability of memory. We note some useful suggestions from commentators, such as future research investigating iatrogenic outcomes of those who report recovered memories and investigating whether therapy-induced recovered memories are also an issue in various other countries. We understand that there are questions as to whether our sample was representative of the adult population of the United States, but we maintain that such questions can be investigated empirically and we could not find much evidence of systematic divergence. We investigated representativeness on gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age and made adjustments where possible. Future research should investigate reports of recovered memory in other general public samples.

Forgetting of Trauma Cues in Adults Reporting Continuous or Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. McNally ◽  
Carel S. Ristuccia ◽  
Carol A. Perlman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Adult Survivors ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Betrayal Trauma ◽  
History Of ◽  
Memory Group

According to betrayal trauma theory, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who were molested by their caretakers (e.g., a father) are especially likely to dissociate (“repress”) their memories of abuse. Testing college students, some reporting CSA, DePrince and Freyd (2004) found that those scoring high on a dissociation questionnaire exhibited memory deficits for trauma words when they viewed these words under divided-attention conditions. Replicating DePrince and Freyd's procedure, we tested for memory deficits for trauma words relative to neutral words in adults reporting either continuous or recovered memories of CSA versus adults denying a history of CSA. A memory deficit for trauma words under divided attention was expected in the recovered-memory group. Results were inconsistent with this prediction, as all three groups exhibited better recall of trauma words than neutral words, irrespective of encoding conditions.

scholarly journals Tilting at Windmills: Why Attacks on Repression Are Misguided

2020 ◽  
pp. 174569162092767
Author(s):  
Chris R. Brewin
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Clinical Evidence ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
Cocitation Analysis ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
General Recognition

In the November 2019 issue of Perspectives, Otgaar et al. argued that the “memory wars” persist and that “the controversial issue of repressed memories is alive and well and may even be on the rise” (p. 1072). Their thesis overlooked the well-established consensus that recovered memories of trauma may be genuine, false, or a mixture of the two and instead focused on a disputed mechanism: unconscious repression. A formal cocitation analysis identified the major publications mentioning repressed memories, but none endorsed a theory of unconscious repression. Studies of beliefs about repressed memories by the general public and other groups do not support Otgaar et al.’s thesis either because these studies did not adequately assess the key ideas defining the theory of repression. Clinical evidence is consistent with recovered memories occurring in many different forms of therapy, including ones that do not use suggestive techniques or rely on the concept of repression. Thus, Otgaar et al. have proposed the existence of a problem for which little objective evidence can be found. Continuing theoretical uncertainties about the mechanisms responsible for forgetting are less important than the general recognition since the 1990s that suggestive therapy and attempts to exhume memories are hazardous and generally inappropriate.

A Field Study of “False Memory Syndrome”: Construct Validity and Incidence

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy E. Hovdestad ◽  
Connie M. Kristiansen
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
False Memory ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
Trauma Symptoms ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
False Memory Syndrome ◽  
Using Data

False memory syndrome (FMS) is described as a serious form of psychopathology characterized by strongly believed pseudomemories of childhood sexual abuse. A literature review revealed four clusters of symptoms underlying the syndrome regarding victims' belief in their memories of abuse and their identity as survivors, their current interpersonal relationships, their trauma symptoms across the lifespan, and the characteristics of their therapy experiences. The validity of these clusters was examined using data from a community sample of 113 women who identified themselves as survivors of girlhood sexual abuse. Examining the discriminant validity of these criteria revealed that participants who had recovered memories of their abuse (n = 51), and who could therefore potentially have FMS, generally did not differ from participants with continuous memories (n = 49) on indicators of these criteria. Correlational analyses also indicated that these criteria typically failed to converge. Further, despite frequent claims that FMS is occurring in epidemic proportions, only 3.9%-13.6% of the women with a recovered memory satisfied the diagnostic criteria, and women with continuous memories were equally unlikely to meet these criteria. The implications of these findings for FMS theory and the delayed-memory debate more generally are discussed.

A Critical Review of Recovered Memories in Psychotherapy: Part I—Trauma and Memory

1996 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Paris
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: The theoretical basis of the use of recovered memories in psychotherapy will be critically examined. Method: Literature will be reviewed on the nature of normal memory, and on the relationship of trauma to memory. Results: Normal memories are surprisingly inaccurate. There is little evidence that normal memories can be repressed. There is no evidence that trauma makes repression more likely. Conclusions: “Recovery” of repressed memories is not consistent with the findings of empirical research.

Repressed Memory or Dissociative Amnesia: What the Science Says

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan W. Scheflin ◽  
Daniel Brown
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Repressed Memory ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
Dissociative Amnesia ◽  
Accepted Standard

Legal actions of alleged abuse victims based on recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have been challenged arguing that the concept of repressed memories does not meet a generally accepted standard of science. A recent review of the scientific literature on amnesia for CSA concluded that the evidence was insufficient. The issues revolve around: (1) the existence of amnesia for CSA, and (2) the accuracy of recovered memories. A total of 25 studies on amnesia for CSA now exist, all of which demonstrate amnesia in a subpopulation; no study failed to find it, including recent studies with design improvements such as random sampling and prospective designs that address weaknesses in earlier studies. A reasonable conclusion is that amnesia for CSA is a robust finding across studies using very different samples and methods of assessment. Studies addressing the accuracy of recovered abuse memories show that recovered memories are no more or no less accurate than continuous memories for abuse.

False memory syndrome vs. total repression

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
False Memory ◽  
Mental Health Field ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
False Memory Syndrome ◽  
Health Field

A major debate exists within the mental health field regarding the authenticity of recovered repressed memories involving childhood sexual abuse. Since it is difficult to document events that occurred years ago, a study was conducted in which polygraphy was utilized to test alleged child abusers accused on the basis of recovered memories versus those abusers whose purported victims experienced no repression. The former group was found to be deceptive in only 4% of the cases, in contrast to 78% for the latter subjects. These findings strongly argue against the validity of the concept of repression for acts that might have persisted for years.

“Truth Serum” and “Recovered Memories” of Sexual Abuse: A Review of the Evidence

1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
August Piper
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Medical Literature ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
The Mind

This article discusses the Amytal interview, which is sometimes believed to be useful to indicate deception, to reveal concealed contents of the mind, or to compel disclosure of those contents. The medical literature is reviewed to determine if the procedure reliably yields information valuable in legal evaluations of adults claiming recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. The review finds that no investigator who had performed Amytal interviews endorsed them as a method of recovering accurate memories; rather, the literature repeatedly comments on several characteristics of these examinations that make them useless for this purpose. It is concluded that the Amytal interview has no legitimate use in recovered-memory cases.

Permissive Group Therapy with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

1963 ◽  
Vol 109 (458) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Lysergic Acid ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
Therapeutic Value ◽  
Small Doses

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has been used at Powick Hospital since 1952. During the early years of the treatment it became apparent that many of the dramatic psychic manifestations of the drug, including the vivid hallucinatory experiences, sensory hyperacuity, etc., were of no therapeutic value and that the chief use of the drug lay in its ability to bring into consciousness repressed traumatic experiences and relationships suffered by the patient during childhood. In particular, feelings such as those of parental rejection and hostility, sexual assaults, the sense of loneliness and impending doom engendered by inhalant anaesthetics in a strange hospital environment were repeatedly recovered and abreacted with great release of emotion. LSD appeared to be unique in the ease with which under its influence these deeply repressed memories could be recovered, and analysts using the drug in relatively small doses found that it would produce in one or two sessions unconscious material which would normally only be recovered after some months of analysis.

Recovered memories: Unearthing the past in court

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth F. Loftus ◽  
Laura A. Rosenwald
Keyword(s):  
Expert Testimony ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Repressed Memory ◽  
Repressed Memories ◽  
The Past

In the past seven years, hundreds of lawsuits based upon repressed memories have forced courts to deal with a new set of issues, including the reliability of such memories, what kind of expert testimony would help judges and juries evaluate the memories, and whether professionals who help retrieve repressed memories should be held liable when therapy goes awry. Research has demonstrated the fallibility of human memory. Experts can help illuminate the controversy over memory in general and repressed memory in particular, as well as the external factors that may distort resurfaced memories.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document