The Validity of Repressed Memory
Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. A repressed memory is one that is retained in the sub conscious mind, where one is not aware of it but where it can still affect conscious thoughts and behaviour. There are a lot of models that try to explain how memory works. Nevertheless, we still don't know exactly how memory works. Unfortunately, there is still a lot to be questioned about memory. Probably the most questionable model of memory is the one which assumes that every experience a person has is 'recorded' in memory, and that some of these are of events so bad that the person doesn't want to remember them. These terrible memories are locked away/repressed, in the sub conscious mind, only to be remembered in adulthood when an event triggers the door to the unconscious. "Similarly, it is possible that conscious fixation on the idea that one was sexually abused might increase the frequency of some physical symptoms, regardless of whether or not the abuse really occurred."(Lindsay & Read, 1994) Recently, there have been more and more cases of grown children under going therapeutic programs believing that they suffer from "repressed memories" of ince
Bass, E. & Davis, L., (1988). The Courage To Heal, p.173. Council on Scientific Affairs, (1994). American Medical Association, June 16. Hyman, I.E. Jr., Husband, T.H. & Billings, F.J., (1995). Prompting false childhood memories. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 9, pp.181-197. Lindsay, S. & Read, D., (1994). Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, p.302. London., (1995). Independent Practitioner, March 1, 64. Loftus, E., (1980). Memory, Surprising New Insights Into How We Remember and Why We Forget, Reading, Mass,: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. Loftus, E., & Ketcham, K., (1987). Eye Witness Testimony: Civil and Criminal, New York, N.Y.: Kluwer Law Book Publishers. Loftus, E., (1980). Eye Witness Testimony, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Mason, M., (Sept. 1991). The McMartin case revisited: the conflict between social work and criminal justice," Social Work, 36, no. 5, pp.391-396. Ofshe, R., & Watters, E., (1994). Making Monsters: False Memory, Psychotherapy and Sexual Hysteria. p.109. Tavris, C., (1993). Hysteria and the Incest Survivor Machine, Sacramento Bee, Forum section, January 17, p.1.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Husband Billings, Memory Memory, Medical Association, Bass Davis, Ethan Watters, Memory Syndrome, Mason Sept, Cognitive Psychology, Billings FJ, Practitioner March, sexual abuse, false memories, memories real, false memory, repressed memory, incest sexual abuse, incest sexual, loftus 1980, false memory syndrome, medical association, bass davis, davis 1988, applied cognitive psychology, sub conscious mind, american medical association,
Approximate Word count = 1269
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
