Page 154 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

Mysteries of the Mind 135

by three common methods: yielding to social
or professional demands to recall particular
events; imagining events when experiencing
difficulty remembering; and being encouraged MEMORIES are more easily modified when
to abandon critical thinking regarding the a significant amount of time has passed between the
truth of their memory constructions.
event and the recollection.
False memories, according to Loftus and
her research colleagues, are most often con-
structed “by combining actual memories with
the content of suggestions received from oth-
M Delving Deeper
ers.” During such a process, individuals may
Ashcraft, Mark H. Human Memory and Cognition.
experience source confusion and forget how
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1994.
much of the memory is valid and how much
Associated Press. “Study of Mind’s Ability to Repress
came from external sources.
Backs Freud.” The New York Times, March 15,
In March 1998, a report commissioned by 2001. [Online] http://www.nytimes.com/
the Royal College of Psychiatrists in England 2001/03/15/health/16ap-memory.html.
accused its own members of having destroyed Loftus, Elizabeth F. “Creating False Memories.” Scien-
innocent lives by implanting false memories by tific American, September 1997, 71–75.
using irresponsible techniques of delving into
———. Memory: Surprising New Insights into How We
patients’ childhood events. According to the
Remember and Why We Forget. Reading, Mass.:
report, nearly 1,000 parents stated that they
Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1980.
had been falsely accused of sexual abuse after
Loftus, Elizabeth F., and Katherine Ketcham. The
their adult children allegedly recovered such
Myth of Repressed Memory. New York: St. Martin’s
memories of the attacks during psychotherapy.
Press, 1994.
Dr. Sydney Brandon, emeritus professor of “New Memories Erase Old by Generating New Neu-
psychiatry at Leicester University, warned his rons.” UniSci—Daily University Science News,
colleagues that such incidents of alleged recov- December 6, 2001. [Online] http://unisci.com/
ered memories could bring the whole of psy- stories/20014/1206614.htm.
chiatry into disrepute. When such memories of Pinker, Steven. How the Mind Works. New York: W.
abuse are brought forth after long periods, W. Norton, 1999.
sometimes decades of amnesia, Brandon said, Schacter, Daniel L. Searching for Memory—The Brain,
there is a high probability that they are false. the Mind, and the Past. New York: Basic Books,

In the November 1998 issue of the journal 1996.
Psychological Science, Dr. C. J. Brainerd and Dr. ———. The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind For-
V. F. Reyna of the University of Arizona in Tuc- gets and Remembers. Boston, Mass.: Houghton
son published their findings that many individ- Mifflin, 2001.
uals often believed more strongly in suggested, ———, ed. Memory Distortion: How Minds, Brains
false memories than in actual recollections of and Societies Reconstruct the Past. Cambridge,
events. Police interviews and psychotherapy Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997.
sessions are structured around a theme that is University of Washington. “New Evidence Shows
designed to help a witness or a patient remem- False Memories Can Be Created,” June 13, 2001.
ber scenes of the past. Psychoanalysis is moti- [Online] http://www.washington.edu.
vated by the task of uncovering a past trauma
and may involve a series of questions that may
lead a patient to accept a suggested, rather than
an actual, truth. When strong themes are oper- Phobias
ative in such explorations of memory, the
researchers state, things that were not really phobia is a persistent irrational fear that
experienced can seem more real to the individ- causes a person to feel extreme anxiety.
ual than his or her actual experiences. A When people have a phobic reaction to

The Gale Enc y clopedia of the Unusu al and Unexplained