False Memory, Manipulation And The Tooth Fairy: Article Analysis

Introduction – Article Summary:
I chose to review the article from the Financial Times entitled “False Memory,
Manipulation, and the Tooth Fairy” (Ahuja, 2016). This was an article that depicted the clash between science and convictions made on the basis of retrieving repressed memories. The scandal occurred in the 1990s, when Elizabeth Loftus, a professor of law and cognitive science, revealed evidence that the retrieval of repressed memories is typically flawed and should not be used in determining whether someone is guilty. At the time, this was a very controversial idea.
People were outraged by her claim that witness accounts were not reliable, accusing her of risking of helping perpetrators get away with crimes. The science that she conducted,
Indeed, depending on the mechanisms or lenses used to retrieve the memory, it might not be retrieved differently, it may alter the memory itself altogether. This is why victims might not be very confident when identifying a perpetrator in a lineup, but then gain full confidence that this person was indeed the aggressor when they testify against them in court a few days later.
Another conclusion was that not all memory manipulation is bad, and in fact can have some benefits. Parents plant false memories in their kid’s minds all the time in order to instill values in them. This type of manipulation can be used for good as well as for bad.
Under what circumstances are repressed memories more likely to surface?
We have seen from our reading that memories can be retrieved through 3 ways
(Spielman, 2016). Recall is when a memory is retrieved without any specific prompt of cue. This is not particularly likely to happen with repressed memories, since our minds try to hide these memories. The second way is through recognition, when we remember information since we had previously encountered it. This is certainly one of the most common ways to retrieve repressed memories, why asking people questions and reminding them about details
Some people (such as Freud) believe that healing can only occur if painful memories are retrieved so that they can be dealt with. Scientology is a “religion” that likes to continuously retrieve and manipulate repressed memories in order to ingrain loyalty of their members (Atack,
2015).
Conclusion - Personal beliefs:
I believe that we need to weigh the pros and cons of retrieving repressed memories. On the one hand, if we don’t retrieve them, the process of healing from the origins of these memories is very difficult or impossible. This means people might be living their lives with negative consequences such as sadness, fright, or anxiety due to traumas that they don’t even remember. If we don’t retrieve the painful memories, it could be difficult to treat the psychological strain. On the other hand, there are many risks associated with retrieving repressed memories, such as creating false memories, or otherwise permanently distorting these false memories. At the end of the day, one needs to be aware of the limitations of human memory in order to use it to its full