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Repression of memories is a controversial topic that has been argued for many years. Some support the myth and it has been imposed in cases to obtain legal convictions. Although researchers have found methods to refute the myth, individuals still believe they have repressed a memory of a traumatic event. This has recently taken place in 2007 in the Colorado vs. Marshall case. Marshall Adam Walker was accused of sexually assaulting a seventeen year-old who claimed that he made three boys pose nude for videos. He was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison. One of the boys claimed to recover a repressed memory of the event while watching a movie (“Legal cases (53), 2010”). This student’s claim made an influential impact on the perpetrator’s sentence. This reflects the power these accusations have had recently in the media and in criminal cases that involve a traumatic event such as sexual assault.
This myth has a had a long history that dates
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Researchers did this by testing four groups with the same criteria as the previous study, a control group and continuous, repressed, recovered memories groups of CSA. During this test, participants were given a word and must state a memory of an event that occurred no longer than one day in one minute or less. Half of the word cues were prompted to respond to a memory from childhood and the other half a memory from adulthood. Participants were then asked to report the date that the event occurred. The latency to retrieve a memory was recorded and used as a dependent variable. Although all four groups retrieved adulthood memories with ease, results revealed that all three groups with memories of CSA had difficulty in retrieving childhood memories. The repressed memory group performed significantly worse in the retrieval of these specific childhood
When Mike McQueary witnessed the rape of a 10-year-old boy, he did not report it to the cops nor did he try and resolve the issue himself (Szalavitz). Instead of using common sense, Mr.McQueary’s mind might have shifted the situation into “interpretive” denial, causing the brain to portray the situation in a different way and with a different meaning behind it (Szalavitz). Sadly, Mr.Queary wasn’t the only one who chose to ignore Jerry Sandusky’s unforgivable actions. A janitor, who was working at Penn State, also failed to report another assault of a child, allowing for endangerment of the kid. Although the charging of Jerry Sandusky is recent, there is an infamous Bystander Effect case that will bring shivers down anyone’s spine. Whenever
The influence of the investigators parallels the influence of therapists in cases of sexually abused children's recovered memories. Works Cited 1)Silverglate, Harvey A; Takei, Carl:Mistrial- The Capturing of Friedman's DVD sheds new light on the case.
Memory plays a large role in our legal system. A person who witnesses a crime has to rely on recalling information, which isn’t always completely accurate. In Johnson (1993) paper she discusses ways memory interferes with the legal systems and what rules and regulations help prevent memory failure to interfere.
Amici curiae is a social psychologist and legal scholar who studies the effects of the Recovered Memory Syndrome on individuals’ behaviors and judicial practices. Amici has conducted research and published several peer-reviewed articles explaining the role of hypnosis in uncovering repressed memories and related traumas that come along with it. This brief intends to provide the Court with relevant and current literature explaining the recovered memory phenomenon and its relationship with psychotherapeutic techniques where recovery of memories often occurs. Research presented by amici demonstrates that cases of sexual abuse, real or imagined, must be given careful consideration as victims undergo significant emotional
False memories being created is obvious through many different ways, such as eye-witness testimonies and past experiments that were conducted, however repression is an issue that has many baffled. There seems to be little evidence on the factual basis of repressed memories, and many argue that it does not exist. The evidence for repression in laboratories is slowly emerging, but not as rapidly as the evidence for false memories. It has been hard to clinically experiment with repressed memories because most memories are unable to be examined during the actual event to corroborate stories. Experimenters are discovering new ways to eliminate this barrier by creating memories within the experiment’s initial phase. This is important for examining the creation of false memories during the study phase. This research study will explore the differences between recovered memories and false memories through research and experiments. Other terms and closely related terms will be discussed, while examining any differences, in relation to repressed memories. The possibility of decoding an actual difference between recovered memories and false memories, through biological techniques. Because false memories can be created, examining these creations in a laboratory setting can shed light on facts overlooked. Exploring these issues will also help with the development of better therapeutic techniques for therapists in dealing with memories. This can lead to an easier process for patients and therapists if they must go through the legal system in relation to an uncovered memory.
Winograd, E., & Killinger, W. A. (1983). Relating age at encoding in early childhood to adult recall: Development of flashbulb memories. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: General, 112(3), 413-422. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.112.3.413
Tulving, E., & Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological Review, 80(5), 352–373. doi:10.1037/h0020071
Krauss, A. (2005) is an interview with Elizabeth Loftus, a professor of psychology and law at the University of California in Irvine. Loftus tells us that human memories are routinely wrong. Loftus has participated in research which has proved that eyewitness testimony can be flawed and that courtroom attorneys can influence a witness's memory of events. “In courtrooms, eyewitnesses who incorrectly recall the color of an accused perpetrator's shirt can send an innocent person to prison potentially for life.”(Krauss, A. (2005). Loftus's research has supported that eyewitness testimony can be flawed and that courtroom attorneys can influence a witness's memory of the events they experience. The most controversial of her premises is her assertion that adults and children who have long repressed memories of being sexually abused, yet seem to suddenly recall events when they are pressed in counseling sessions. Loftus says that in theory, these children are unwittingly “fabricating” the crime scenes.
Ever since DNA has been used in court cases, hundreds of people have been released from prison because DNA exonerated them from the eyewitness testimony that was given at trial that locked them up in the first place. Once news about this started getting out, how human memory was not as perfect as previously thought, many different studies have shown how easy it is to manipulate memory and create false memories to almost everyone. So when I received this assignment and had to research a topic involving false memories and present it, I chose an issue that I am very connected with, individuals with intellectual disabilities [ID]. Growing up I was a member of Friendship Circle it is a nonprofit organization that caters to children, teens, and young adults who have autism or are ‘special needs’ and immerse them in a range of Jewish and other social experiences. Being a volunteer and being exposed to children and young adults with ID and autism spectrum disorder I noticed some of the kids would get bruises in odd places and act funny some weeks. Bringing this to the attention to one of the leaders in charge I would later find out that someone was abusing that child. According to Baladerian (1991), 39-83% of girls and 16-32% of boys with an ID are sexually abused before they are 18. In another more recent article from the UK said “definite abuse was found [in people with learning disabilities] in 4-5% of individuals, but consultants felt many others had hidden signs of abuse” it also went on to state that there are about 940 new cases of abuse with the victim having an intellectual disability (Cooke and Sinason, 1998). Another study I looked at said that there is a one in fifty [1:50] chance that if someone is a victim on a crime ...
Farrants, J. (1998, September). The 'false' memory debate. Counseling Psychology Quarterly. Retrieved September 14, 2000 from ProQuest database (Bell & Howell Information and Learning-ProQuest) on the World Wide Web: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb
Sex offenders are one of the most reviled criminals by the public. Their actions cause extensive harm and trauma to many innocent victims as well as victims’ families and offenders families (1). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that 25-33% of adult women and 10% of adult men have been sexually abused as children (1). Just like substance abuse offenders, sexual abuse offenders incline to deny the actions of their offense, and additionally, deny the seriousness of their offense (Hanser and Mire, 2011). Denial is a psychological defense process to protect against unpleasant feelings of anxiety. In addition, denial may also be a normal, conscious action to avoid internal or external consequences
Schnitzspahn, K.M., Stahl, C., Zeintl, M., Kaller, C. P., & Kliegel, M. (2013). The role of shifting, updating, and inhibition in prospective memory performance in young and older adults. Developmental Psychology, 49(8), 1544-1553. doi: 10.1037/a0030579
In the field of cognitive neuroscience a memory study usually involves a combination of behavioral tasks and a machine that permits t...
The recognition accuracy for old events was calculated as the proportion of performed and imagined events that were correctly recognized as old, regardless of whether they were correctly attributed to having been performed or imagined. (Kelley, 2009). Even with a 1-week delay, the percentage of performed actions or imagined performing in phase 1 that were correctly remembered as old was relatively high 91.1%, and overall false alarm rates were relatively low at 4.7%. (Kelley, 2009). However people remembered that an event happened does not mean they correctly remembered how it happened. (Kelley, 2009). Source accuracy was somewhat impaired, though well above chance with the average performance of 88.8% and did not differ significantly between performed actions (M=88.7%) and imagined actions (M=89.0%). (Kelley, 2009).
"Organization of Memory." Cognitive Psychology and Its Application. Social Science, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. .