repressed memory

Repressed memory is a theoretical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall; also called motivated forgetting in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life. This is not the same as amnesia, which is a term for any instance in which memories are either not stored in the first place (such as with traumatic head injuries when short term memory does not transfer to long term memory) or forgotten.^[1]

The term is used to describe memories that have been dissociated from awareness as well as those that have been repressed without dissociation. Repressed memory syndrome, the clinical term used to describe repressed memories, is often compared to psychogenic amnesia, and some sources compare the two as equivalent.^[2]

According to the theory's proponents, repressed memories may sometimes be recovered years or decades after the event, most often spontaneously, triggered by a particular smell, taste, or other identifier related to the lost memory, or via suggestion during psychotherapy.^[3]

The existence of repressed memories is a controversial topic in psychology; some studies have concluded that it can occur in victims of trauma, while others dispute it. According to the American Psychological Association, it is not currently possible to distinguish a true repressed memory from a false one without corroborating evidence.^[4]

History

The concept was originated by Sigmund Freud in his 1896 essay Zur Ätiologie der Hysterie ("On the etiology of hysteria").^{[citation needed]} Freud abandoned his theory between 1897 and 1905, replacing it during 1920-1923 with his impulse-based concept of Ego, super-ego, and id. Friedrich Nietzsche was the first to suggest an active, conscious thought management method in the second essay of his On the Genealogy of Morals as a necessary fundament of efficiency, responsibility, and maturity.

Research

Some research indicates that memories of child sexual abuse and other traumatic incidents may be forgotten.^[5][6] Evidence of the spontaneous recovery of traumatic memories has been shown,^[7][8][9] and recovered memories of traumatic childhood abuse have been corroborated.^[6][10][11]

Van der Kolk and Fisler's research shows that traumatic memories are retrieved, at least at first, in the form of mental imprints that are dissociated. These imprints are of the affective and sensory elements of the traumatic experience. Clients have reported the slow emergence of a personal narrative that can be considered explicit (conscious) memory. The level of emotional significance of a memory correlates directly with the memory's veracity. Studies of subjective reports of memory show that memories of highly significant events are unusually accurate and stable over time.^[12] The imprints of traumatic experiences appear to be qualitatively different from those of nontraumatic events. Traumatic memories may be coded differently than ordinary event memories, possibly because of alterations in attentional focusing or the fact that extreme emotional arousal interferes with the memory functions of the hippocampus.^[12]

Although research on repressed memory is limited, a few studies have suggested that memories of trauma that are forgotten and later recalled have a similar accuracy rate as trauma memories that had not been forgotten.^[2]

There has also been significant questioning of the reality of repressed memories. There is considerable evidence that rather than being pushed out of consciousness, the difficulty with traumatic memories for most people are their intrusiveness and inability to forget.^[13] One case that is held up as definitive proof of the reality of repressed memories, recorded by David Corwin^[11] has been criticized by Elizabeth Loftus and Melvin Guyer for ignoring the context of the original complaint and falsely presenting the sexual abuse as unequivocal and true when in reality there was no definitive proof.^[14]

Theory

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It has been speculated that repression may be one method used by individuals to cope with traumatic memories, by pushing them out of awareness (perhaps as an adaptation via psychogenic amnesia) to allow a child to maintain attachment to a person on whom they are dependent for survival.^[15] Researchers have proposed that repression can operate on a social level as well.^[16]

Controversy

The existence of repressed memory recovery has not been completely accepted by mainstream psychology,^{[17][18][19][20]} nor unequivocally proven to exist, and some experts in the field of human memory feel that no credible scientific support exists for the notions of repressed/recovered memories.^[21] One research report states that a distinction should be made between spontaneously recovered memories and memories recovered during suggestions in therapy.^[22]

Legal issues

Some criminal cases have been based on a witness' testimony of recovered repressed memories, often of alleged childhood sexual abuse. In some jurisdictions, the statute of limitations for child abuse cases has been extended to accommodate the phenomena of repressed memories as well as other factors. The repressed memory concept came into wider public awareness in the 1980s and 1990s followed by a reduction of public attention after a series of scandals, lawsuits, and license revocations.^[23]

In a 1996 ruling, a US District Court allowed repressed memories entered into evidence in court cases.^[24] Jennifer Freyd writes that Ross Cheit's case of suddenly remembered sexual abuse is one of the most well-documented cases available for the public to see. Cheit prevailed in two lawsuits, located five additional victims and tape-recorded a confession.^[9]

On 16 December 2005 the Irish Court of Criminal Appeal issued a certificate confirming a Misscarriage of Justice to a former nun Nora Wall whose 1999 conviction for child rape was partly based on Repressed Memory evidence. The judgement stated that: "There was no scientific evidence of any sort adduced to explain the phenomenon of ‘flashbacks’ and/or ‘retrieved memory’, nor was the applicant in any position to meet such a case in the absence of prior notification thereof." ^[25]

Recovered memory therapy

Recovered memory therapy (RMT) is a term coined by affiliates of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation^[26][27] referring to what they described as a range of psychotherapy methods based on recalling memories of abuse that had previously been forgotten by the patient.^[28] The term is not listed in DSM-IV or used by mainstream formal psychotherapy modality.^[26] Opponents of the therapy advance the hypothesis that therapy can create false memories through suggestion techniques; this hypothesis is controversial and has been neither proven nor disproven. Some research has shown evidence supporting the hypothesis,^[29][30] and this evidence is questioned by some researchers.^[26][31][32] Even when patients who decide their recovered memories are false retract their claims, they can suffer post-traumatic stress disorder due to the trauma of illusory memories.^[33] The number of reported retractions is small when compared to the large number of actual child sexual abuse cases.^[34]

See also

• Dissociative identity disorder
• Interference theory
• Memory inhibition

References

External links

• Memory controversies at the Open Directory Project