Amnesia

Repressed Memories 2 There has been a huge, conflicted debate about whether or not repressed memories are actually real. Many people practice this therapy because according to Freud’s theory of “repression”, the only cure for neurosis is to make the repressed memories conscious (Skeptic’s Dictionary, 2014). Some psychologists say it can negatively affect the person both emotionally and mentally because it can make the effects of trauma…

The Reality of Repressed Memories Elizabeth F. Loftus University of Washington Keywords; repressed memories, delayed discovery doctrine, False Memory Syndrome Foundation Abstract One of the most unforgettable concepts in the mid 80’s early 90’s would be repressed memories. Repressed memories would store disturbing events that occur in our lives, that traumatic event can resurface twenty to forty years down the road. In the early 1990’s there was a rise for repressed memory and…

Amnesia or amnesic syndrome, is a shortage in memory caused by damage in the brain. The person with amnesia won’t be able to remember certain things. The extent of the damage determines whether the memory is fully or partially lost. Though having no sense of who you are is a common plot device in movies and television, real-life amnesia generally doesn't cause a loss of self-identity. Instead, people with amnesia are usually aware and know who they are, but may have trouble learning new…

Although seen as controversial, Elizabeth Loftus is a strong leader in psychology, specifically in the field of memory. Her discoveries and experiments with false memories and eyewitness testimony have made her very prominent. She has written about her research on faulty memories, explaining the impact it can have on justice and society, as well as individuals. Loftus is most interested in the implications false memories have in the justice system. There have been many wrongful convictions…

Suppressed Memories May Be Implanted Memories In Remembering Childhood Trauma That Never Happened by Vance, E. (2016) a panicked neighborhood in Stuart, Florida, were dealing with what seemed to be mass hysteria. A secret cult was being run out of local Montessori preschool with details described as satanic, dark hooded figures and sexual assault of children. The evidence came a decade later from the victims themselves. They were able to retell their horrific events at the secret cult by…

This article by Smith et al., 2015, tests how pictures can have an effect on false memories especially in older adults. The researchers were interested in why pictures can decrease false memories in older adults but why visual words do not decrease false memories in older adults as they do in younger adults. In this study there were two experiments with both older and young adults. The first experiment tests whether young adults would have higher false recall being presented with sounds of words…

This paper will be looking at memories, being able to distinguish between our true or false memories in particular. We spend our entire life accumulating memories and at times make decisions based on our memories, but what if they are false? Being able to understand and identify a false memory is very important in modern society, in our justice system relies on evidence to reach a verdict, at times a witness is crucial, their memory can be the deciding factor of a case. Review of the…

“A false memory is a mental experience that is mistakenly taken to be a veridical representation of an event from one’s personal past. Memories can be false in relatively minor ways and in major ways that have profound implications for oneself and others” (Psychology of False Memories, 2001). In simpler terms, this definition means a false memory is the recollection of an event that did not actually happen. The purpose of this assignment is to show if the five subjects tested demonstrate the…

Memories may seem unchangeable and concrete. In recent years, there has been an over-flux of research done on false memories. Humans, as imaginative as we are, frequently recall past experiences. Recent studies have established that false memories can be consequential and emotional, that they can last for long periods of time, and that they are not merely the product of demand characteristics or the recovery of extant but hidden memories. The misinformation effect is misleading information that…

In Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, both Sethe and Paul D escape their physical bondage as slaves; however, a comparison between Sweet Home and 124, both places of torment and suffering, reveals how emotional bondage can also enslave a person sometimes without them even noticing. As we learn from piecing together flashbacks the characters share, our two main protagonists Sethe and Paul D begin their story at a farm called Sweet Home, where they are slaves to the Garner family. Although these…