Memory consistency for sexual assault events.

Abstract

People often report experiencing trauma events that they previously failed to remember or report. Research on this amplification effect has typically examined memory reports for large-scale shared events that are often discussed widely in the community, potentially exposing victims to postevent information. This postevent information may have distorted their trauma memory, leading them to falsely remember experiencing events that they did not experience. Here, we examined whether personal, often unreported trauma events also amplify over time. Participants reported their sexual assault experiences at 2 time points, 6 months apart. Participants reported fewer events over time; that is, memory for sexual assault did not amplify. However, the number of amplification errors that participants made was positively related to exposure to media reports about the trauma; postevent information contained in these reports could have promoted memory errors. Amplification errors were also positively related to symptomatology. It is possible people reappraised traumatic events they initially considered to be of low impact as significant to justify emerging or continuing distress.

Encouraging source monitoring after post‐event information exposure for analogue trauma

“…Interestingly, there was a positive relationship between amplification and photo-related PTSD symptoms, a finding consistent with some field studies (see King et al, 2000;Nahleen et al, 2019;Roemer et al, 1998;Southwick et al, 1997). These results suggest an underlying reappraisal mechanism to amplification: traumatic events initially considered to be of low impact may be reappraised as significant to justify emerging or continuing distress.…”

“…Thus, they may inadvertently incorporate the PEI images, which feel familiar, into their original memory. Indeed, findings from one field amplification study suggest that exposure to media reports about experienced sexual assault events, a form of PEI, may be related to increased memory amplification (Nahleen et al, 2019).…”

“…Indeed, findings from one field amplification study suggest that exposure to media reports about experienced sexual assault events, a form of PEI, may be related to increased memory amplification (Nahleen et al, 2019).…”

A Critical Analysis of Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder

“…Piedfort-Marin et al ( 2021) state that SCM researchers rejected the idea of an etiological association between trauma and dissociation because DID patients reporting childhood traumatic experiences would suffer the effects of "the malleability of memory which would be vulnerable to suggestion" (p. 380). We contend that this is possible and add the imperative that memory reports-whether of traumatic or nontraumatic events (Bernsten & Nielsen, 2021)-should be corroborated by objective evidence where possible, given the widely accepted finding that memory is reconstructive (e.g., Barlett, 1932), prone to inaccuracies, and sensitive to the influence of external sources, including the media (Bernsten & Nielsen, 2021;Nahleen et al, 2019).…”