A bibliometric analysis of the recovered memory controversy in the 21st century

Dodier, Olivier

doi:10.1002/acp.3498

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 107 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There are two indications that this is not the case. First, in a recent bibliometric analysis, Dodier (2019) examined the number of publications and citations regarding repressed and recovered memories from 2001 to 2018. The author found that proponents and opponents of repressed memories have continued to publish articles about repressed and recovered memories throughout the time period.…”

Section: Memory Wars In the Courtroom And Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma

Otgaar

Howe

Patihis

et al. 2019

Perspect Psychol Sci

125

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Can purely psychological trauma lead to a complete blockage of autobiographical memories? This long-standing question about the existence of repressed memories has been at the heart of one of the most heated debates in modern psychology. These so-called memory wars originated in the 1990s, and many scholars have assumed that they are over. We demonstrate that this assumption is incorrect and that the controversial issue of repressed memories is alive and well and may even be on the rise. We review converging research and data from legal cases indicating that the topic of repressed memories remains active in clinical, legal, and academic settings. We show that the belief in repressed memories occurs on a nontrivial scale (58%) and appears to have increased among clinical psychologists since the 1990s. We also demonstrate that the scientifically controversial concept of dissociative amnesia, which we argue is a substitute term for memory repression, has gained in popularity. Finally, we review work on the adverse side effects of certain psychotherapeutic techniques, some of which may be linked to the recovery of repressed memories. The memory wars have not vanished. They have continued to endure and contribute to potentially damaging consequences in clinical, legal, and academic contexts.

show abstract

Section: Memory Wars In the Courtroom And Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma

Otgaar

Howe

Patihis

et al. 2019

Perspect Psychol Sci

125

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A recent bibliometric analysis of articles on the recovered-memory controversy published in the 21st century ( Dodier, 2019 ) distinguished between articles that were skeptical of repression and those that were “sympathetic” to it. How this sympathy was defined or measured was not stated.…”

Section: Who Refers To Repression As a Theoretical Construct?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tilting at Windmills: Why Attacks on Repression Are Misguided

Brewin

2020

Perspect Psychol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the November 2019 issue of Perspectives, Otgaar et al. argued that the “memory wars” persist and that “the controversial issue of repressed memories is alive and well and may even be on the rise” (p. 1072). Their thesis overlooked the well-established consensus that recovered memories of trauma may be genuine, false, or a mixture of the two and instead focused on a disputed mechanism: unconscious repression. A formal cocitation analysis identified the major publications mentioning repressed memories, but none endorsed a theory of unconscious repression. Studies of beliefs about repressed memories by the general public and other groups do not support Otgaar et al.’s thesis either because these studies did not adequately assess the key ideas defining the theory of repression. Clinical evidence is consistent with recovered memories occurring in many different forms of therapy, including ones that do not use suggestive techniques or rely on the concept of repression. Thus, Otgaar et al. have proposed the existence of a problem for which little objective evidence can be found. Continuing theoretical uncertainties about the mechanisms responsible for forgetting are less important than the general recognition since the 1990s that suggestive therapy and attempts to exhume memories are hazardous and generally inappropriate.

show abstract

“…American Psychiatric Association, 2013, see also Otgaar et al, in press). Indeed, some 21st century authors still appear to adopt the view that trauma memories can be stored and become inaccessible for a long period of time-sometimes decades-before it becomes recoverable (Brand et al, 2018;Dalenberg et al, 2012;DePrince et al, 2012; see also Dodier, 2019, for a review of the evolution of the 21st century publications related to the recovered memory debate).…”

Section: The Scientific Status Of Repressed Memoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although repression is not a sufficiently proven phenomena and scepticism is abound in the scientific literature (Dodier, 2019), several types of psychotherapies are partly aimed at helping patients to recover repressed memories. As Patihis and Pendergrast (2019) pointed out, it is very rare for therapists to explicitly state that the objective of their therapeutic techniques is to dig up memories buried in the unconscious.…”

Section: Recovered Memory Therapy and Beliefs About Repressed Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reports of recovered memories of childhood abuse in therapy in France

Dodier

Patihis

Payoux

2019

Memory

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recovered memories of abuse in therapy are especially controversial if the clients were not aware they were abused before therapy. In the past, such memory recovery has led to legal action, as well as a debate about whether such memories might be repressed, forgotten, or false memories. More than two decades after the height of the controversy, it is unclear to what degree such memories are still recovered today, and to what extent it occurs in France.In our French survey of 1312 participants (M age = 33; 53% female), 551 reported having done therapy at some point. Of that 551, 33 (6%) indicated they had recovered memories of abuse in therapy that they did not know about before therapy. Sexual abuse was the most commonly reported type that was recovered in therapy (79%). As in past research, discussing the possibility of repressed memories with therapists was associated with reports of recovered memories of abuse. Surprisingly, memory recovery occurred just as much in behavioural and cognitive therapies as it did in therapies focused on trauma. We found recovered memories in a proportion of clients who began therapy recently. Recovered memories in therapy appears to be an ongoing concern in France.

show abstract

A bibliometric analysis of the recovered memory controversy in the 21st century

Abstract: Step 1: An extensive search was made with a list of keywords related to the repressed/recovered memory controversy. Only articles that contained one of these keywords were retrieved.

Cited by 20 publications

References 107 publications

The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma

The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma

Tilting at Windmills: Why Attacks on Repression Are Misguided

Reports of recovered memories of childhood abuse in therapy in France

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About