It is difficult to imagine not being able to trust one's own memories. This may seem like a scenario to be reserved for those who are either delusional or senile. However, there is a vibrant field of cognitive research dealing with the insubstantial nature of memory. Studies have consistently shown that no recall is complete: eyewitness accounts often vary drastically, childhood memories slip away, and over time person

al perception may warp a realistic view of the past. However, the issue of "recovered" memories of past sexual assault or abuse is a particularly difficult field, because of its heavy emotions for the victim and the degree of damage which a false accusation can make to the accused. The following two examples outline some of the difficulty surrounding this toping.

Harrison Pope, of Harvard Medical School, has written several papers on this topic which suggest that the science behind "recovered memories" is generally unproven and unreliable. In his editorial for BMJ (1998), Dr. Pope gives several examples of false reports based on recovered memories. He writes about satanic sexual abuse, and other cases without corroborating evidence which ended up in the courts. His argument proceeds to a claim that recovered memory phenomena are merely "a romantic notion that has infiltrated our cultural belief system." (Pope, 1998, 488-489) He questions how any person can endure a dramatic trauma and then forget about it, and explains that in classical literature no such phenomena was ever discussed. The idea of recovered memories were not present in "Shakespeare, or any literature before the romantic writings of the nineteenth century. Only then, in the novels ...and in the poetry ... does repression begin to appear...." (Pope, 1998, 488-489) He argues that this indicates the condition was recently invented.

The case against "recovered" memories

However, Halbrooks case contrasts significantly with the case of Ross Cheit. Mr. Cheit, who was a respectable college professor, had entered therapy because of a sense of universal uneasiness. During this period, he has a startling dream, which provoked strong feelings regarding a camp counselor by the name of Bill Farmer, whom he had known as a child. Within a year he managed to contact Farmer by phone. His former counselor admitted to having molested young boys in the past, and of having lost several jobs because of this. (Schacter,1996 p.249) Cheit's memories were obviously legitimate, and corroborated, despite the fact that they had been long inaccessible to his conscience mind, and only resurfaced in a dream.

Pope continues to argue that the scientific evidence for recovered memories is extremely sparse. He claims that retrospective studies (which ask participants if they have ever forgotten and then remembered past abuse) are categorically "dubious" (Pope, 1998, 488-489) and that the only valid sort of test would be prospective, in which victims of documented abuse receive follow up visits. However, he continues to say that in all known prospective studies, "when subjects were asked directly about traumatic experiences, all reported memories. Non-reporting occurred only in those studies where subjects were never asked directly about the event," (Pope, 1998, 488-489) or that there are other "methodological limitations." (Pope, 1998, 488-489)

Taking Hopper's advice, one finds that the FMSF appears to populate its pamphlets not so much with statistical information as with quotes from credible sources. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine without full citations provided if FMSF is taking these quotations within an accurate context. Nonetheless, for the sake of giving their side a fair argument, the following quotes were all drawn from an online archive of a popular FMSF pamphlet. The American Medical Association Council of Scientific Affairs is quoted from 1994 as saying "The use of recovered memories is fraught with problems of potential misapplication.... The AMA considers recovered memo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dr Pope, ABSTRACT Repressed, Scheflin Brown's, Bill Farmer, Scheflin Brown, Scientific Affairs, Diana Halbrooks, Dr Hopper, Jim Hopper, Taking Hopper's, recovered memories, sexual abuse, pope 1998 488-489, 1998 488-489, pope 1998, false memories, childhood abuse, fmsf 1999, hopper 2004, subjects directly, scheflin brown's review, prospective studies, abuse uncertain authenticity, studies subjects directly, recall hopper 2004,
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