This proposed study will examine the process of memory repression and recovery. This work is important because there is very little data regarding adults who have experienced sexual trauma in adulthood versus those who experienced sexual trauma in childhood. Memory repression and recovery is a very common problem for traumatized individuals. This longitudinal study exemplifies a two-group, between-subjects design (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2012). The directional hypothesis for this design is: A woman who experiences sexual trauma will experience more detailed and more frequent memory recovery of the traumatic experience if they receive professional psychotherapy. The results of the study are expected to show that participants in the experimental
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If shock can cause a person to forget, or repress, pieces of traumatic memory, then over time, those memories would resurface as the trauma is dealt with and healed. This recovery of memory could be due to an innocuous trigger or during therapy while discussing the trauma. Often, repression can be paired with dissociation that occurred during the traumatic experience. This can cause the recovered memory to be confusing and foggy. “Repression is seen as a memory that is moved intact below a horizontal barrier in the psyche and kept unconscious. If and when it returns, it reappears still intact. Dissociation, on the other hand, is seen as segments of an experience that disappear into the unconscious as though through vertical blinds. These segments, even when returned may seem isolated, unrelated, and incommunicable. Accounts of the trauma may appear confused” (Lego, 1996). These questions and the corresponding research are important in the overall study of memory and trauma. If the hypothesis is accurate, then more work can be done on what triggers the recovery of memory. This would hopefully lead to people recovering more quickly and effectively. If the hypothesis is not accurate, then this could begin further study on the cause of repression and …show more content…
The results of this study would show that psychotherapy plays a statistically significant role in memory recovery of traumatic experiences. The t-test would show the quantitative results of the memory recovery rate. This information is important because it could play a crucial role in a survivor’s healing process and practices. The findings in this study will advance the research and knowledge of memory repression and recovery as well as the established psychotherapy practices for those survivors. This design proved successful because of the design and systems used to track memory recovery throughout the study. A recommended course for future study would be to test various types of psychotherapeutic practices concerning memory recovery rates. Observable benefits of memory recovery and healing processes would be fewer nightmares, fewer flashbacks, fewer panic attacks, and a decrease in other types of post-traumatic stress symptoms. In conclusion, this study proved correct and provides more information to further the study of traumatic experiences and how they effect the
If shock can cause a person to forget, or repress, pieces of traumatic memory, then over time, those memories would resurface as the trauma is dealt with and healed. This recovery of memory could be due to an innocuous trigger or during therapy while discussing the trauma. Often, repression can be paired with dissociation that occurred during the traumatic experience. This can cause the recovered memory to be confusing and foggy. “Repression is seen as a memory that is moved intact below a horizontal barrier in the psyche and kept unconscious. If and when it returns, it reappears still intact. Dissociation, on the other hand, is seen as segments of an experience that disappear into the unconscious as though through vertical blinds. These segments, even when returned may seem isolated, unrelated, and incommunicable. Accounts of the trauma may appear confused” (Lego, 1996). These questions and the corresponding research are important in the overall study of memory and trauma. If the hypothesis is accurate, then more work can be done on what triggers the recovery of memory. This would hopefully lead to people recovering more quickly and effectively. If the hypothesis is not accurate, then this could begin further study on the cause of repression and …show more content…
The results of this study would show that psychotherapy plays a statistically significant role in memory recovery of traumatic experiences. The t-test would show the quantitative results of the memory recovery rate. This information is important because it could play a crucial role in a survivor’s healing process and practices. The findings in this study will advance the research and knowledge of memory repression and recovery as well as the established psychotherapy practices for those survivors. This design proved successful because of the design and systems used to track memory recovery throughout the study. A recommended course for future study would be to test various types of psychotherapeutic practices concerning memory recovery rates. Observable benefits of memory recovery and healing processes would be fewer nightmares, fewer flashbacks, fewer panic attacks, and a decrease in other types of post-traumatic stress symptoms. In conclusion, this study proved correct and provides more information to further the study of traumatic experiences and how they effect the