False memory Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
A false memory is a memory of an event that did not happen or is a distortion of an event, as determined by externally corroborated facts of the event. If a person has a memory of an event for which there is no other witness nor corrobarative physical evidence, the validity of the memory may be questioned but not dismissed. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Therefore, the term false memory should only be used in relation to memories which are known to be false, not memories which are not known to be true. A complication arises in such instances as when the memory involves trauma inflicted by another. Where the involved third party has self interest to deny the memory, that denial should not be deemed sufficient to dismiss the memory. In situations where there are no witnesses and where the witnesses have natural motive to deny the memory, we are left needing more external information to confirm the event(s) described in the memory. However, there is usually ample internal information that may lead a skilled and knowledgable helping professional to determine the significance of the memory.False memories may be created in a number of ways, and the exact mechanism is controversial. Research suggests that at least some of these memories are formed through rehearsal, or repetition, of an event that is confirmed not to have occurred: after thinking about and visualizing it repeatedly, the person may begin to remember it as if it had actually happened. If asked about it, the person may confidently recall the event, when in reality it is merely the previous visualizations that make it seem familiar. Rehearsal is the strongest mechanism of moving short-term memory into long-term memory. Naturally, when incorrect information is rehearsed, an incorrect long-term memory is formed. This aplies to both implanted and real memories. For example, many people with siblings have had the experience of learning later in life that one of their childhood memories actually happened to their sibling.
A distinction between ordinary and traumatic memory is essential in understanding the issues of and surrounding false memory. No studies show that traumatic memories, and thus their related affects - such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder, can be implanted. Additional memory studies relating to traumatic memory would greatly help resolve this debate.
False-memory syndrome (FMS) is a hypothesised state of mind where the sufferer has a high number of highly vivid false memories, often of abusive events during their childhood. FMS is not recognised in the DSM-IV. In fact, the forgetting of traumatic events constitutes several of the manual's diagnostic criteria for PTSD. The debate over FMS centers largely around the topic of child abuse, where dissociation occurs and the traumatic memory is buried until later in life when the memory is remembered naturally or with the aid of a helping professional. Advocates of FMS argue both methods of recovering memory, claiming that naturally recovered memories are the product of anger or resentment towards the accused party, and that helping professionals such as therapists and psychiatrists knowingly or accidentally implant false memories.
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) was formed by a group of parents who had been accused of child abuse, their lawyers, and sympathetic academics who promote the hypothesis of FMS, and dispute the validity of recovered memories. Unfortunately, those who support the idea of FMS place little emphasis on recovery and treatment of those with recovered memories.
False memory has been an important issue in many investigations, including cases of alleged sexual abuse and Satanic ritual abuse.
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