False Memory Syndrome Facts Information about false memories, repressed memories, FMSF

Scientific Analysis

False Memory Syndrome Facts Website

Crook, L. & Dean, M. (1999). "Lost in a shopping mall" - A breach of professional ethics. Ethics & Behavior, 9(1), 39-50.

ABSTRACT: The "lost in a shopping mall" study has been cited to support claims that psychotherapists can implant memories of false autobiographical information of childhood trauma in their patients. The mall study originated in 1991 as 5 pilot experiments involving 3 children and 2 adult participants. The University of Washington Human Subjects Committee granted approval for the mall study on August 10, 1992. The preliminary results with the 5 pilot subjects were announced 4 days later. An analysis of the mall study shows that beyond the external misrepresentations, internal scientific methodological errors cast doubt on the validity of the claims that have been attributed to the mall study within scholarly and legal arenas. The minimal involvement--or, in some cases, negative impact--of collegial consultation, academic supervision, and peer review throughout the evolution of the study are reviewed.

Crook, L. & Dean, M. (1999). Logical fallacies and ethical breaches. Ethics & Behavior, 9(1), 61-68.

The authors address Loftus' reliance on the ad hominem technique (Loftus, 1999) to establish a clear distinction between her characterization of them and the legitimacy of their concerns regarding the ethics of her research.

Loftus, E. F. (1999). Lost in the mall: Misrepresentations and misunderstandings. Ethics & Behavior, 9(1), 51-60.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Elizabeth F. Loftus, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.

1/1/99: Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP's website is online at http://kspope.com. Visit it to learn more about two of his articles, Science As Careful Questioning: Are Claims of a False Memory Syndrome Epidemic Based on Empirical Evidence? (1997) and the predecessor to this article...Memory, Abuse, and Science: Questioning Claims About the False Memory Syndrome Epidemic(1996).

"Careful assessment of purported scientific discoveries and the resulting interpretations is a responsibility of every scientist. The area of memory, particularly memory for abuse, has recently seen new, highly publicized claims. These include the proposal of a new diagnostic category, the false memory syndrome; claims about the ease with which extensive autobiographical memories can be implanted; and estimates of the extent therapists use risky practices likely to cause false memory syndrome. This article suggests questions to evaluate these claims and the methods used to promote them. Implications for clinical standards and malpractice are discussed. "-- Pope

 

Read about the Special Edition of Ethics & Behavior -- A must-read for anyone concerned with the issue of recovered memories.Tapes of the 1998 Meeting On Trauma And Cognitive Science are available. The conference was held July 17-19, 1998, in Eugene, Oregon. Some of the faculty and topics included are: BESSEL VAN DER KOLK : Neurobiological Dimensions of Traumatic Memories, MARY KOSS: Rape & Health Outcomes -- Cognitive Mediators, TERENCE KEANE: Post Traumatic Stress & Information Processing, LISA BUTLER & DAVID SPIEGEL: Disclosure and Amnesia, among others. Additional topics include False Memories of Childhood Events, The Memory Debate, Cognitive Models of Memory Inhibition and Recovery, Memory Functioning in Traumatized Children, Memory Accuracy for Recovered Memories.

August, 1998: Treating Abuse Today reports that DID skeptic and False Memory Syndrome Foundation advisor Paul McHugh was invited by the National Institutes of Health to educate the public about dissociative identity disorder, replacing Frank Putnam, well-known expert on that subject.

What happens in the minds of people who have suffered actual, documented abuse and forgotten it? University of Oregon professor of psychology Dr. Jennifer Freyd's book, Betrayal Trauma proposes answers to this question and shines a light on the direction of future research (See the Harvard University Press publication announcement). (Also available in paperback.)

Two comprehensive reading lists designed for graduate-level seminars are also found on Prof. Freyd's site: Trauma & Cognitive Science Bibliography; and Trauma & Cognitive Science Seminar Week-by-Week Reading List