False memory syndrome

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In

psychiatric illness[8] in any medical manuals including the ICD-11,[9] or the DSM-5.[10] The most influential figure in the genesis of the theory is psychologist Elizabeth Loftus.[11][failed verification
]

Definition

Memory researcher Julia Shaw notes that the "syndrome" does not refer to the normal, common, experience of having false memories or exhibiting memory errors or biases.[12] False memory syndrome was a proposed "pattern of beliefs and behaviors"[1] in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships center on a memory of a traumatic experience that the accused claims never happened but which the purported victim strongly believes occurred.[13]

Not intended to be diagnostic, the colloquial "syndrome" referred to a set of behaviors that settled into a pattern:[1]

  1. The belief that a mental health problem is a reaction to a past traumatic event that was repressed.
  2. The development of pseudomemories
  3. A centering of identity surrounding the memories
  4. The development of an extreme dependence on psychotherapy and a therapist
  5. Estrangement from family and friends

The FMS concept is controversial,

Dissociative Amnesia.[9]

Recovered memory therapy

Main article:
Recovered memory therapy

Recovered memory therapy is a catch all phrase to describe the scientifically discredited therapeutic processes and methods that can create false memories. These non-exhaustive methods include

DSM-V or used by any mainstream formal psychotherapy modality, which has led to accusations that the term is little more than a pejorative.[20] [failed verification
]

Evidence for false memories

Human

words without the creation of false memories. Susan Clancy discovered that people claiming to have been victims of alien abductions are more likely to recall semantically related words than a control group in such an experiment.[23]

The lost in the mall technique is a research method designed to implant a false memory of being lost in a shopping mall as a child to test whether discussing a false event could produce a "memory" of an event that did not happen. In her initial study, Elizabeth Loftus found that 25% of subjects came to develop a "memory" for the event which had never actually taken place.[24] Extensions and variations of the lost in the mall technique found that an average of one third of experimental subjects could become convinced that they experienced things in childhood that had never really occurred, even traumatic or impossible events.[25]

Sexual abuse cases

The question of the accuracy and dependability of a repressed memory that someone has later recalled has contributed to some investigations and court cases, including cases of alleged sexual abuse or child sexual abuse (CSA).[26][27][failed verification][28] The research of Elizabeth Loftus has been used to counter claims of recovered memory in court[24] and it has resulted in stricter requirements for the use of recovered memories being used in trials, as well as a greater requirement for corroborating evidence. In addition, some U.S. states no longer allow prosecution based on recovered memory testimony.[citation needed] Insurance companies have become reluctant to insure therapists against malpractice suits relating to recovered memories.[24][29][19][failed verification]

Supporters of recovered memories argue that there is "overwhelming evidence that the mind is capable of repressing traumatic memories of child sexual abuse."[30][failed verification] Whitfield states that the "false memory" defense is "seemingly sophisticated, but mostly contrived and often erroneous." He states that this defense has been created by "accused, convicted and self-confessed child molesters and their advocates" to try to "negate their abusive, criminal behavior."[31] Brown states that when pro-false memory expert witnesses and attorneys state there is no causal connection between CSA and adult psychopathology, that CSA doesn't cause specific trauma-related problems like borderline and dissociative identity disorder, that other variables than CSA can explain the variance of adult psychopathology and that the long-term effects of CSA are non-specific and general, that this testimony is inaccurate and has the potential of misleading juries.[32]

Malpractice cases

During the late 1990s, there were multiple lawsuits in the United States in which psychiatrists and psychologists were successfully sued, or settled out of court, on the charge of propagating

satanic ritual abuse.[33]

Some of these suits were brought by individuals who later declared that their

recovered memories of incest or satanic ritual abuse had been false. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation uses the term retractors to describe these individuals, and has shared their stories publicly.[34] There is debate regarding the total number of retractions as compared to the total number of allegations,[35] and the reasons for retractions.[36]

Injuries resulting from malpractice

Sexual abuse of children and adolescents can lead to severe negative consequences. Child sexual abuse is a risk factor for many classes of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, affective disorders, dissociative disorders and personality disorders.

sodium amytal
, and anti-depressants.

The term "false memory syndrome" describes the phenomenon in which a mental therapy patient "remembers" an event such as childhood sexual abuse, that never occurred.[38] The link between certain therapy practices and the development of psychological disorders such as dissociative identity disorder comes from malpractice suits and state licensure actions against therapists. These cases demonstrate the ease with which an individual can be led to exhibit dissociative symptoms, especially when hypnosis, sodium amytal, strong medications, or readings involving traumatic imagery magnify the effect of therapist suggestions or expectations.[medical citation needed] These cases also show that once the symptoms become established, the standard treatment modality often leads to a deterioration of the mental and emotional well-being of the patient.[medical citation needed]

In United States Popular Culture

Television shows and movies have been made about the phenomenon, such as the USA Network series The Sinner, which touches on the idea of recovering forgotten memories. The show focuses on a woman who kills a seemingly random man on the beach one day for playing a song that triggered a traumatic event from her past, which she has temporarily forgotten. Throughout the first season detectives try to trigger her memory and find a motive for her actions.[39]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISSN 1047-840X
    .
  2. ISBN 978-1-932594-39-3
    .
  3. ^ Freyd, Pamela (March 5, 1993). "Our Critics" (PDF). FMS Foundation Newsletter. 2 (3): 3–4.
  4. ^ Paterson, H. M., Kemp, R. I., & Forgas, J. P. (2010). "Co-witnesses, confederates, and conformity: The effects of discussion and delay on eyewitness memory.," Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
  5. ^ Loftus, Elizabeth F. Memory: Surprising New Insights Into How We Remember and Why We Forget (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1980).
  6. ^ Schacter, Daniel L. The Seven Sins of Memory : How the Mind Forgets and Remembers (Houghton Mifflin Co., 2001).
  7. ^ Association for Psychological Science (2008, August 20). "False Memories Affect Behavior."
  8. ISBN 978-0-7890-1174-9
    .
  9. ^
    doi:10.1007/s12207-020-09376-9
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-89042-555-8
    .
  11. PMID 16172386
    .
  12. ^ Shaw, Julia. "Stop Calling It False Memory "Syndrome"". Scientific American. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Kihlstrom, J.F. (1998). Exhumed memory. In S.J. Lynn & K.M. McConkey (Eds.), Truth in memory, (pp. 3-31). New York: Guilford.
  14. PMID 31584864.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  15. PMID 25706242
    .
  16. ^ McHugh 2008, p. 55.
  17. doi:10.1007/s12207-019-09348-8
    . Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  18. ISSN 0955-6036
    .
  19. ^ a b Saletan, William (June 4, 2010). "The memory doctor: the future of false memories". Slate. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  20. ISBN 978-0-7890-1901-1
    .
  21. ISBN 978-0-618-21919-3
    .
  22. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.21.4.803
    .
  23. Harvard Gazette
    . October 31, 2002. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  24. ^
    Orange County Register
    . Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  25. ISBN 978-0-8058-5232-5
    .
  26. ^ "Are Recovered Memories Reliable?". Religioustolerance.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  27. ^ Colleen Born. "Elizabeth Loftus". Muskingum.edu. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  28. ^ "Recovered Memory Project: Case Archive, Commentary, and Scholarly Resources". Brown.edu. May 3, 1993. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  29. ^ Neimark, J. (1996). The diva of disclosure, memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus. Psychology Today, 29, 48–53, 80.
  30. ^ Murphy, W. "Debunking 'false memory'myths in sexual abuse cases". Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  31. S2CID 24310658
    . Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  32. S2CID 20874393
    . Retrieved January 28, 2008.
  33. ^ "Recovered Memory Lawsuit Sparks Litigation". Psychiatrictimes.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  34. ISBN 978-0-88667-045-0
    . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  35. ISBN 978-1-55874-320-5
    .
  36. PMID 6605796
    .
  37. ^ "False Memory Syndrome Foundation". www.fmsfonline.org. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  38. ^
    doi:10.1037/e300392004-003. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  39. ^ Han, Karen (July 31, 2018). "The Sinner is the rare murder mystery that doesn't care whodunnit. Instead, it asks, "Why?"". Vox. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

External links

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