The Social and Legal Construction of Repressed Memory

Date

1997

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Law of Social Inquiry

Abstract

Description

This article reviews four books that question the premises, logic, techniques, evidentiary grounding, and effects of recovered memory therapy: 1) Lawrence Wright, Remembering Satan: A Case of Recovered Memory and the Shattering of an American Family (1994). 2) Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters, Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria (1994). 3) Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham, The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse (1994). 4) Mark Pendergrast, Victims of Memory: Incest Accusations and Shattered Lives (1995). The article concludes that no scientific evidence supports the theory that the mind is capable of repressing such traumatic events. The article also analyzes the ways in which the recovered memory controversy has been socially and legally constructed and suggests how sociolegal scholars might further understanding of this phenomenon more generally. Finally, the article asserts that recovered memory therapy leads to prosecutions of innocent individuals and diverts scarce resources away from real social and political problems.

Keywords

Child abuse, Child development -- memory, Evidence-based practice -- research, Memory -- recovered

Citation

DOI