Repressed Memory Speech

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that for therapists, true memories can provide clues as to why patients are suffering from a variety of psychological problems. The writer notes that helping clients gain a clearer understanding requires greater and more detailed insight into the patient's past. Further, the writer points out that most clinical psychologists believe that children can learn to block memories as a survival mechanism and repression, which may cease to be helpful in adult life. Away from the traumatic environment, adults may find their memories resurfacing, either gradually in fragments, or suddenly in vivid flashbacks. The writer maintains that the issue of repressed memory remains controversial, even with the American Psychological Association itself. The writer then concludes that the real truth may be that not all cases are false and not all cases are true, but when dealing with the complex and suggestible process of memory and recall, it can be difficult to discern truth from fiction.

From the Paper:

"The debate over so-called recovered memory syndrome leaves therapists in a bind. Even the name of the syndrome is controversial. Advocates who say the memories are real call the memories repressed, those who say the memories are false call the memories planted. In 1996, Susan Clancy, then a psychology fellow at Harvard, tried to find a way to see if some people were more prone to re-create memories than other people. She tested women who said they had repressed and then recovered memories of sexual abuse, and control groups who said they were either never sexually abused or had never forgotten their abuse. All were asked to study, memorize and then recite back a list of related words, like candy, sugar, cookie and brownie, that were related to the word sweet--but never the word sweet itself. Everybody had a tendency to falsely remember that the word sweet was one of the words that had been listed, but the women who claimed to have recovered memories of sexual abuse were significantly more likely than the control groups to be very, very confident that the critical word sweet was falsely on that list."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Ethics Complaints Filed Against Prominent FMSF Board Member APA Declines To Investigate." (2006). APA Website. Retrieved 6 Mar 2007 at http://fmsf.com/apa-complaint.shtml
• Kandel, Minouche, & Eric Kandel. (May 1994) "Flights of memory - biology of recovered memory." Discover. Retrieved 6 Mar 2007 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n5_v15/ai_15332659/pg_5
• Krug, Kevin & Charles A. Weaver, III. (Oct 2005). "Eyewitness memory and metamemory in product identification: evidence for familiarity biases." Journal of General Psychology. . Retrieved 6 Mar 2007 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2405/is_4_132/ai_n15791939
• Rogers, Joanne Ellison. (Jul-Aug 2006). "Extreme psychology." Psychology Today.Retrieved 6 Mar 2007 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_4_39/ai_n16753492

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