The recovered memory controversy
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document in English
psychology
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published 09/07/2008
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SummarySome people who experience sexual abuse during childhood cannot recall the trauma in later years. Psychologists do not all agree as to why this occurs, reasons ranging from repression to age to natural forgetting, etc. Regardless as to how such memories are “hidden,” the real controversy lies in the victims’ later recollection of their traumatic experiences. Many believe that victims may recover their memories of abuse through therapy or on their own, but memory’s changeable, reconstructive nature makes these memories vulnerable to inaccuracies. Therapists, through the use of suggestion, confrontation, and memory- enhancing techniques, often unknowingly lead their patients into generating false memories. This does not mean that recovering accurate memories is utterly impossible and never occurs. The difficulty arises in that the experimentation necessary to prove or disprove the existence of repression or of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse is considered to be unethical and cannot, therefore, be performed.
Table of Contents
- Abstract.
- The recovered memory controversy.
- Avoiding repression as a possible explanation.
- The main argument is not whether repression exists.
- Psychologists admit - patients undergo memory- enhancing techniques.
- The recovered memory debate ends in accusations and tears.
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