The Potential for False Memories is Bigger than What Brewin and Andrews Suggest

Otgaar, Henry; Jelícic, Marko; Smeets, Tom

doi:10.1002/acp.3262

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, in general, research suggests that negative events are more likely to be misremembered than are more mundane events (e.g., Otgaar, Candel, & Merckelbach, 2008; Porter, Taylor, & ten Brinke, 2008). This finding has been explained by the fact that because emotionally negative memories contain a high level of connectivity with other memories, it is relatively easy to activate and then remember events that were not experienced but related to the experienced event (e.g., Bookbinder & Brainerd, 2016; Otgaar, Merckelbach, et al, 2017).…”

Section: The Creation Of Implanted False Memoriesmentioning

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

Self Cite

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: The Creation Of Implanted False Memoriesmentioning

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

Self Cite

125

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research has shown that it is also possible, under certain circumstances, to develop false memories for entire events (e.g., Loftus and Pickrell, 1995), including criminal events (Shaw & Porter, 2015; but see also Wade, Garry, & Pezdeck, 2018;Shaw, 2018). Systematic reviews of false memory research have seen rates ranging from 15% (Brewin & Andrews, 2017; but see Otgaar, Merckelbach, Jelicic, & Smeets, 2017;Nash, Wade, Garry, Loftus, & Ost, 2017) to 30% (Scoboria et al, 2017) of participants developing false memories.…”

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

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

“…Inspired by the recovered memory debate, a plethora of research has been conducted on the elicitation of false memories (e.g., Frenda, Nichols, & Loftus, 2011 ). Although these studies have been informative ( Otgaar, Merckelbach, Jelicic, & Smeets, 2017 ), some memory researchers have remained critical about the generalizability of their findings (e.g., Pezdek & Lam, 2007 ; but see Wade et al, 2007 ). In many of these studies, healthy participants were tested using a variety of different false memory procedures.…”

Section: Psychopathology In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

What Drives False Memories in Psychopathology? A Case for Associative Activation

Otgaar

Muris

Howe

2017

Clinical Psychological Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In clinical and court settings, it is imperative to know whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression may make people susceptible to false memories. We conducted a review of the literature on false memory effects in participants with PTSD, a history of trauma, or depression. When emotional associative material was presented to these groups, their levels of false memory were raised relative to those in relevant comparison groups. This difference did not consistently emerge when neutral or nonassociative material was presented. Our conclusion is supported by a quantitative comparison of effect sizes between studies using emotional associative or neutral, nonassociative material. Our review suggests that individuals with PTSD, a history of trauma, or depression are at risk for producing false memories when they are exposed to information that is related to their knowledge base.

show abstract

The Potential for False Memories is Bigger than What Brewin and Andrews Suggest

Cited by 16 publications

References 17 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

Reports of recovered memories of childhood abuse in therapy in France

What Drives False Memories in Psychopathology? A Case for Associative Activation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About