Something to Consider • 233Department (available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/178240.htm), which
includes many of these suggestions, plus others. One thing that is striking about these
recommendations is that they are the direct outcome of psychological research. Thus,
whereas one goal of cognitive psychology research is to determine basic mechanisms of
memory, this research often has practical implications as well.Something to Consider
Memories of Childhood Abuse
Eileen Lipsker was 28 years old in 1989 when, as she watched her young red-haired
daughter draw pictures in their family room, she suddenly remembered a similar scene
from 20 years earlier when, as an 8-year-old, she was playing with her red-haired friend
Susan. This memory ended with the image of Eileen’s father, George Franklin, raping
and murdering her friend. Later, during therapy, memories surfaced of her father sexu-
ally abusing her (Terr, 1994). Based on these reports, George Franklin was convicted of
fi rst-degree murder in 1990 and was sentenced to life in prison.
This case is just one of many that began surfacing in the 1980s that shared a com-
mon theme: A memory of being abused or witnessing abuse appeared after many years
of having no memory of these events, and a family member was accused and convicted
based solely on the reported memory. Later, in some of the cases, it was determined that
the abuse did not, in fact, happen. This was the outcome for George Franklin, whose
conviction was later overturned on appeal.
How could this happen? One answer is suggested by the following scenario: Patient
X enters therapy for an eating disorder and depression. The therapist believes that
symptoms such as eating disorders and depression are caused by childhood sexual
abuse that has been pushed out of memory (Blume, 1990; Fredrickson, 1992). This
therapist, who belongs to a group of therapists that memory researchers have identifi ed
as “trauma-memory oriented therapists,” tells the patient that memories of abuse can
be buried—pushed out of consciousness because of their painful nature—and suggests
trying some visualization exercises to help unlock this lost memory. In some cases, the
therapist might ask the patient to obtain childhood family pictures because sometimes
viewing them helps retrieve these memories.
From what you know about the possibility that memories can be created by sugges-
tion, it is easy to see that the situation described above could provide powerful sugges-
tions, which could lead the creation of a false memory for abuse. As we saw from the
description of Lindsay et al.’s (2004) experiment on page 226, having the patient view
pictures can further enhance the possibility of creating false memories.
Of course, it is also possible that the patient was abused, and that he or she is
remembering something that actually happened. The incidence of childhood sexual
abuse in the United States is shockingly high, with millions of people affected. Elizabeth
Loftus (1993), a memory researcher who has extensively studied cases of memory of
childhood sexual abuse, points out that the question is not whether childhood sexual
abuse occurs, but how abuse is recalled by adults. She warns that uncritically accepting
all allegations of abuse “no matter how dubious” could “lead to an increased likelihood
that society in general will disbelieve the genuine cases of childhood sexual abuse that
truly deserve our sustained attention” (p. 534).
Although research is being done toward being able to determine, by measuring brain
activity, whether a memory is real or false (Schacter & Slotnick, 2004; Sederberg et al.,
2007), at this point there is no test or procedure that can accurately differentiate between
real memories and false memories. But given what we do know about memory, it is impor-
tant to take into account the specifi c situation under which memories for long ago events
are elicited. Thus, it is important to keep in mind the seriousness and high prevalence of
abuse, but also not to lose sight of the possibility that memory can be created by suggestion.Forgot It
All Along
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