Agenda: Memory. Announcements Recovered memories. Fabricated memories. Logic Evidence. 3bPOT16-1

Transcription

1 Agenda: Memory Announcements Recovered memories Logic Evidence Fabricated memories 3bPOT16-1

2 Announcements Please turn in DRC forms by Tues Research question due in lecture on Tuesday 1 paragraph to 1 page, typed Include section day/time (so we can sort) Does not have to be your final question, but should be in general area of interest more finalized = more time to work on paper more specific = better feedback from TA 3bPOT16-2

3 I. Recovered Memories Has been an area of controversy Schooler and Enns articles discuss the controversy and some evidence Definition: sexual abuse (or other event) occurred and there was some time when memory was not accessible Note that how the memory impairment occurred is a separate question mechanism or process question 3bPOT16-3

4 Fabricated Memories Definition: Sexual abuse (or some other event) did not happen but the person has a (false) memory that it did Typically, the belief is that the fabricated memory was created in response to suggestions or persuasion by others e.g., therapist influences client 3bPOT16-4

5 A. Logic: Recovered vs. fabricated These two phenomenon have been set up as either/or IF it is possible to create a false/ fabricated memory, THEN all recovered memories are false This is faulty logic 3bPOT16-5

6 False dichotomy Conflates persistence and accuracy of memory either a memory is persistent (always available) and completely accurate or a memory is not persistent (was not accessible at some point) and therefore is not accurate Logically, the concepts are distinct and orthogonal 3bPOT16-6

7 Accuracy Accurate Inaccurate Persistence and Accuracy Inaccessible Persistence Always Remembered 3bPOT16-7

8 Accuracy Persistence and Accuracy Inaccessible Persistence Always Remembered Accurate Inaccurate "False Memory" as usually defined (i.e. implanted or suggested) 3bPOT16-8

9 Accuracy Persistence and Accuracy Inaccessible Persistence Always Remembered Accurate Inaccurate "False Memory" as usually defined (i.e. implanted or suggested) Unproblematic memory (uncontested) 3bPOT16-9

10 Accuracy Persistence and Accuracy Inaccessible Persistence Always Remembered Accurate Inaccurate "False Memory" as usually defined (i.e. implanted or suggested) Also a false memory (but not discussed or researched) Unproblematic memory (uncontested) 3bPOT16-10

11 Accuracy Persistence and Accuracy Inaccessible Persistence Always Remembered Accurate Inaccurate "False Memory" as usually defined (i.e. implanted or suggested) "Recovered Memory" Also a false memory (but not discussed or researched) Unproblematic memory (uncontested) 3bPOT16-11

12 Persistence Both are continuous measures Accuracy Completely Inaccurate Always completely inaccessible Always completely accessible Completely Accurate 3bPOT16-12

13 Logic Logically, it is possible that people sometimes remember events (including childhood trauma) that never took place AND people sometimes forget (or repress or have amnesia for) events (including childhood trauma) that did take place Both can be true, they do not contradict each other 3bPOT16-13

14 What about an individual person? If we're talking about an individual memory of an individual person, assumption is that one or the other is true They remember abuse If the abuse happened, it's a (true) recovered memory If the abuse didn't happened, it's a fabricated memory 3bPOT16-14

15 Reality Abuse No abuse Reality and Memory My memory Abuse No abuse 3bPOT16-15

16 Reality Reality and Memory My memory Abuse No abuse Abuse No abuse Veridical/accurate 3bPOT16-16

17 Reality Reality and Memory My memory Abuse No abuse Abuse No abuse "False Memory" as usually defined Veridical/accurate 3bPOT16-17

18 Reality Reality and Memory My memory Abuse No abuse Abuse No abuse "False Memory" as usually defined Veridical/accurate Veridical/accurate 3bPOT16-18

19 Reality Reality and Memory My memory Abuse No abuse "False Memory" as usually defined Veridical/accurate Abuse No abuse Veridical/accurate False or faulty memory (possibility of recovering) 3bPOT16-19

20 The individual is complex May often be either/or for one individual But, again, not logically required Someone could (falsely) remember being abused by neighbor AND They could have an inaccessible (true) memory of being abused by their stepfather 3bPOT16-20

21 B. Evidence for recovered memories 1. Clinical reports 2. DSM 3. Prospective studies 4. Retrospective studies 5. Individual cases/accounts 3bPOT16-21

22 1. Clinical Reports Long clinical history of reports of partial or complete amnesia for trauma "Amnestic Syndromes of War" (Sargant & Slater, 1941) "... causes such as terror, bomb blast and exhaustion, may produce not only fugues both at the time and subsequently, but also large gaps retrospectively in the patient's memory of the past" 3bPOT16-22

23 2. DSM Traumatic amnesia is recognized in DSM Inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic event(s) (typically due to dissociative amnesia and not to other factors such as head injury, alcohol or drugs PTSD negative alterations in cognition and mood #1 Acute Stress Disorder dissociative symptoms #7 3bPOT16-23

24 DSM, cont. Also is part of dissociative disorder diagnoses (although link to trauma is not required by DSM criteria) DID: Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting. 3bPOT16-24

25 3. Prospective studies Williams (1994,1995) 206 documented cases of sexual abuse sample from ER visits 17 years later, 176 were recontacted Among other questions, asked whether they were sexually abused as a child 38% did not mention the abuse And, 10% reported that there was a period when they had forgotten 3bPOT16-25

26 Williams Methodology How were the women asked about their experiences with sexual abuse? behaviorally specific questions, such as: sexual contact by force sexual contact with a family member sexual contact that took place against your wishes asked about fabricated reports of abuse, made by themselves or others asked whether anyone in their family ever got in trouble for their sexual activities 3bPOT16-26

27 Important Study This is a really important study. Why? Prospective Gold standard for documented abuse (verified in the ER) Fairly large n Ethnically diverse Results are strong not just a few people who forgot 3bPOT16-27

28 Williams: Other explanations? Maybe 38% remembered but didn't want to talk about it but these 38% did talk about other personal things, including abortions and other personal sexual details Maybe the 38% were too young at the time of the abuse to remember it "infantile amnesia" 3bPOT16-28

29 Figure from Williams (1994) Figure 1. Bar graph showing age at time of victimization and no recall of sexual abuse, χ2( 3, N = 149) = 12.65, p < bPOT16-29

30 What accounted for recall? Age at time of abuse was a factor Relationship/closeness with abuser less recall if perpetrator was a close family member we'll come back to this point 3bPOT16-30

31 What about recovered memory group? Were their memories less accurate than the group that always remembered? No. The two groups had similar amounts of discrepancies in their accounts Some in this group reported skepticism of their own memories saying they seemed like a dream "false negative" (vs. "false positive" of fabricated memory) 3bPOT16-31

32 Prospective Study: Combat 62 vets from Persian Gulf war (1990) Memory assessed at 1 month, 2 years after return to US Checklist: which traumatic events experienced? includes death of friend, seeing others killed or wounded 3bPOT16-32

33 Southwick et al. results 88% changed responses on at least one item; 61% on two or more 76% recalled an event at 2 years that they didn't report at 1 month 46% did not report an event at 2 years that they did at 1 month No independent corroboration but suggestive evidence for traumatic amnesia, recovered memories could also support false memory position 3bPOT16-33

34 4. Retrospective Studies Ask people who now remember childhood sexual abuse, was there ever a period when you didn't remember? Dozens of such studies have been conducted Virtually all find some percentage of people who claim amnesia at some period 3bPOT16-34

35 Elliott (1997) Recall from prevalence lecture Community sample (not just people in therapy or just abuse survivors) 23% reported child sexual abuse Of this group 17% reported partial amnesia 15% reported total amnesia at one time 3bPOT16-35

36 Elliott (1997) Was memory status related to aspects of the trauma? Those who had memory impairment reported more types of trauma more distress about trauma (now and then) younger age at time of earliest trauma not explained by infantile amnesia, because relationship existed even when looking only at participants with first trauma at age 5 or later 3bPOT16-36

37 What triggered memory? Media presentation (57%) Experience similar to the original trauma (37%) Conversation with a family member (37%) Sexual experience (17%) Psychotherapy (14%) So, memories possibly "implanted" by therapist are in minority 3bPOT16-37

38 5. Individual Cases Schooler's account of JR There is a data base of individual accounts of recovered memories all with corroborating evidence (physical evidence, witness accounts, or confession of perpetrator) Ross Cheit's Recovered Memory Project click on Case Archive 3bPOT16-38

39 Ross Cheit new book Empirically challenges the view that a series of highprofile sexual abuse cases in the 1980s and early 1990s were hoaxes Shows how a narrative based on empirically thin evidence became a theory with real social force, and how that theory stood at odds with the reality of child sexual abuse 3bPOT16-39

40 II. Fabricated Memories Strong evidence for this phenomenon exists Mostly laboratory studies Most common type - post-event suggestions e.g., use of word "smashed" causes people to misremember there was broken glass in the description of a car accident high confidence, detailed description, and maintained in spite of contradictory evidence 3bPOT16-40

41 Evidence for fabricated memories Most (but not all) studies cause people to fabricate details of an event, rather than an entire event exceptions: being lost in a shopping mall, having finger caught in mouse trap For more info on this debate, see references in Schooler Also see memory/ 3bPOT16-41

42 Motivation and Mechanisms Phenomenon of recovered memories seems real What motivates this amnesia? "Why" question What mechanisms or processes are involved? "How" question 3bPOT16-42

43 Trevor Noah: You obey traffic lights? watch? v=mu35xltklna 16POT3a - 43