Repressed Memories

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Repressed Memories

• Elizabeth Loftus

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Derepressed memories

• Loftus opens with several examples of court cases
  that involve derepressed memories
• What is a repressed memory?
• What is a derepressed memory?

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Loftus position in this article

• Loftus does not reject the notion of repressed
  memories
• 18 - 59 of abuse survivors report having
  regained access to previously repressed memories

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Loftus position in this article

• Loftus does not reject the notion of repressed
  memories
• 18 - 59 of abuse survivors report having
  regained access to previously repressed memories
• What does Loftus challenge?

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Loftus position in this article

• Loftus does not reject the notion of repressed
  memories
• 18 - 59 of abuse survivors report having
  regained access to previously repressed memories
• What does Loftus challenge?

That all de-repressed memories are accurate
memories.
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High Stakes

• Survivor of real abuse might struggle for years
  or decades with consequences and need to confront
  the repressed memory in order to recover
  emotionally

• False accusation could tear family apart and send
  an innocent person to jail

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Whats the issue?

• What does Loftus express concern about regarding
  the derepression of memories?

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Whats the issue?

• What does Loftus express concern about regarding
  the derepression of memories?
• reality of the memory is in question if it is
  recalled under certain circumstances

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Whats the issue?

• What does Loftus express concern about regarding
  the derepression of memories?
• reality of the memory is in question if it is
  recalled under certain circumstances
• What is the course of events that Loftus finds
  worrisome?

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Whats the issue?

• What does Loftus express concern about regarding
  the derepression of memories?
• reality of the memory is in question if it is
  recalled under certain circumstances
• What is the course of events that Loftus finds
  worrisome?

Therapist or Popular Book suggests that patient
consider possibility of abuse
An explicit episodic memory is achieved
Patient engages in intense effort to recall
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Whats the issue?

• So we potentially have a situation in which
  someone who is having troubles in life and is
  seeking answers is told to determine whether or
  not memories for abuse exist
• What are some techniques that are used to
  assist recollection?

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Whats the issue?

• So we potentially have a situation in which
  someone who is having troubles in life and is
  seeking answers is told to determine whether or
  not memories for abuse exist
• What are some techniques that are used to
  assist recollection?
• hypnosis, imagery, dream analysis, story telling

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False Memories

• Could these techniques or the mere suggestion of
  abuse insert a false memory in a patient?

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False Memories

• Could these techniques or the mere suggestion of
  abuse insert a false memory in a patient?
• We talked about laboratory examples of false
  memories and memory distortions, but do false
  memories occur for real-world events?

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False Memories

• What are some examples of false memories?

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False Memories

• What are some examples of false memories?
• Piagets attempted kidnapping
• Challenger explosion

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False Memories

• What are some of the investigations Loftus cites?
• Laurence Perry (1983) - Suggested to subjects
  under hypnosis that they had been woken up by a
  loud sound
• 13/27 ultimately recalled being woken up !

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False Memories

• What are some of the investigations Loftus cites?
• Loftus Coan - family member is enlisted to
  discuss a fictitious episode in which subject was
  supposedly lost in a shopping mall
• subjects can develop surprisingly vivid
  recollection of this fictitious event

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Whats the issue?

• Why might a well-meaning therapist or author
  suggest abuse?

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Whats the issue?

• Why might a well-meaning therapist or author
  suggest abuse?
• Symptoms
• low self-esteem
• suicidal/self-destructive thoughts
• depression
• sexual dysfunction

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Whats the issue?

• What problem does Loftus point out is inherent in
  diagnosing symptoms?

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Whats the issue?

• What problem does Loftus point out is inherent in
  diagnosing symptoms?
• Confirmatory Bias people often look for the
  presence of symptoms to confirm a suspected
  diagnosis rather than absence of symptoms to
  disconfirm a diagnosis

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Conclusion

• We cannot know with certainty (without
  corroborating evidence) whether a derepressed
  memory is true

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Conclusion

• We cannot know with certainty (without
  corroborating evidence) whether a derepressed
  memory is true
• Therapists should engage in probing this
  possibility very carefully
• avoiding suggestive questions
• remaining unconvinced without corroborating
  evidence
• being gently confrontational to encourage
  patient to consider the possibility that the
  events didnt happen

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• Yet another distinction

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• The successful recall of episodic memory entails
  a conscious awareness for the contents of the
  memory

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• The successful recall of episodic memory entails
  a conscious awareness for the contents of the
  memory
• Explicit Memory is any memory that is both
  available and accessible by consciousness

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• Are all memories explicit? Is all information
  stored in the brain subject to conscious
  scrutiny?

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• Are all memories explicit? Is all information
  stored in the brain subject to conscious
  scrutiny?
• Implicit Memory refers to encoded memories that
  are not part of the contents of awareness

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Implicit and Explicit Memory

• How can we know whether memory is stored/recalled
  implicitly or explicitly?

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Implicit Memory

• Consider the following distinction in recalling
  items from a list of words

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Implicit Memory

• Consider the following distinction in recalling
  items from a list of words
• Free Recall - subjects can be asked to simply
  recall and report as many items as possible -
  these items are accessible as explicit memory

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Implicit Memory

• Consider the following distinction in recalling
  items from a list of words
• Implicit Recall - subjects can be asked to
  complete a word stem with any word that comes to
  mind after reading a list of words (no mention of
  testing memory!)

__ack
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Implicit Memory

• Consider the following distinction in recalling
  items from a list of words
• Implicit Recall - subjects can be asked to
  complete a word stem with any word that comes to
  mind after reading a list of words (no mention of
  testing memory!)

But how do you know that information is
stored/recalled implicitly? Couldnt it be
explicit?
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Implicit Memory

• Consider the following distinction in recalling
  items from a list of words
• Twist - require subject to complete stem with a
  word that wasnt on the list - if a word from the
  list is used preferentially, it was remembered
  implicitly

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Implicit Memory

• If some processing that happens in your brain
  occurs without consciousnessconsider the
  implications regarding the nature of
  consciousness and the connection between neural
  activity and awareness

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Next Time

• Oliver Sacks The Lost Mariner and a discussion
  of amnesia