Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Repressed Memory
Repressed memory, or motivated forgetfulness has no direct or empirical evidence. Most psychologists don't believe in it because of the lack of evidence. However, I believe it is difficult to perform studies for this evidence, and I do believe in it. Many people face abuse or other types of trauma that they want to forget and put in the back of their minds. This may come out at times later in life in a dangerous position though. Although these memories may be repressed, they are still present. Someone may have the strength to put the memory of past abuse in the back of the head but they never forget, and at a certain point these memories may come out in an emotional state. I do believe it is almost impossible to do studies in this area however, because I believe if someone represses a memory they would be reluctant to do a study, or the study may not be as accurate as possible to come up with results.
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I agree with you on this, as I also believe in the theory of repressed memories. I think at one point in all of our lives we experience something that we would rather forget but most of us are not successful. The memory remains ingrained in our minds forever. However, I believe if something traumatizes someone to such an extent, they are able to repress the memory. This later emerges when another traumatizing event triggers the memory.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this about repressed memory. If something bad has really happened and you would want to forget that memory and try and think about something completely different. At first it is very difficult but over time at least for me, I find myself changing my mind on something completely. If i want to forget something I will tell myself it didnt happen or whatever and sometimes it helps come to terms with everything.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the theory of repressed memory. There are incidents in one's life which can be life altering and one can convince themself that the event never occurred. However, it is possible for something to trigger one's memory and cause the person to remember.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe someone can repress a memory so far that they actually do not remember it. I believe if one didnt want to remember something they would do everything in their power to not think about the event they want to forget. Something so traumatizing cannot be forgotten altogether. you can tell yourself it did not happen, but something will trigger your memory and the thing you wanted to forget will be remembered.
ReplyDeleteReading this post reminded me of a disucssion that was held in one of my ADJ classes this semester. I believe that the theory of repressed memories is very real and something a lot of people in today's society deal with. In our class we discussed how children who are molested at a young age may after many years lash out against the wrongdoer. The numerous bad memories that have been stowed away in the indiviudals mind after an extended period of abuse manifest themselves into sometimes harmful actions. If a child has been molested over a long period of time, and eventually lashes out and harms the wrongdoer this is actually justifiable in a court of law. The courts refer to this as duress. If repressed memories of traumtic situations are recognized by the law, and potentially justify some crimes then why is the idea of repressed memories considered a theory or debate amongst psychologists?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what my position is on repressed memories. I can see why someone would want to try to stop themselves from thinking about a traumatic event. But I do think that to consciously force yourself to forget a memory is impossible, especially when there are strong emotions attached to it. I have had several experiences in my life that I wish never happened and that I could forget, but regardless of how much I will myself to forget it is impossible. You can, however, try not to think about something, and over time the memory won't be so promient. Regardless, every traumatizing event can leave some kind of emotional effect on an individual that is impossible to ignore. Your memory can be easily triggered by anything from sound to location to a certain song or person. Personally, as much as I would try to convince myself something did not occur, I know I can't deny reality. It is unavoidable. This is just my point of view, so I can certainly see why this is such an area of controversy for psychologists.
ReplyDeleteI think this makes a lot of sense, and this is why kids that were abused at to young of an age to remember, still have problems later in life that bring back these memories that have been supressed. The memories are triggered by random things, and then the people are unable to explain why it bothers them-they have repressed the memory from their childhood, or from a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteI barely remember any of my childhood. I play football and deffinatly have had concussions, but i dont think this has caused my memory loss. My parents got divorced when i was 9. I think it was a very painful time in my life and because of that all the times they argued or were mad at each other i would try to forget those times. I dont remember anything about the divorce at all i dont remeber anything before it either.
ReplyDeleteI believe that repressed memories heavily attribute to how one behaves and portrays themselves, even years after a particular occurence. Repressed memories often cause a person to put up a front to others (as a kind of defense mechanism) to try and hide their insecurities. Once repressed memories are discovered by others, I think they explain a great deal about the person and often offers reasoning behind their behavior and/or personality.
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